Wistron to start iPhone production at Narasapura soon; to hire 5,000 workers

Taiwan-based electronics giant Wistron Corp, one of Apple’s key manufacturers, is all set to start manufacture of a select iPhone models at their brand-new facility at Narasapura in Kolar district, on the outskirts of Bengaluru, highly-placed sources in the state government confirmed to DH.

The company, which is investing close to Rs 3,000 crore in phases on the new plant spread over 43 acres, has kicked off a social media campaign to recruit ITI and Diploma holders in electricals and electronics disciplines to handle soft electronics components. It plans to hire around 2,000 women workers immediately. “The company has already begun the trial production of iPhone models and the full-fledged production will commence sometime in August. They have started recruiting for the manufacturing operations,” a senior state government official said.

However, Wistron official declined to comment on the development.

Confirming the recruitment drive, which will commence on Friday, staffing company TeamLease Services Ltd said they are recruiting around 5,000 Diploma and ITI certificate holders, of which 70% will be women workers for Wistron. “We are looking for Diploma or ITI certificate holders in electronics, and electricals. We are looking for both freshers and with one-year experience,” Sudeep Kumar Sen, Business Head, TeamLease Services Limited said.

He said each employee will be given a salary of Rs 16,000 per month and statutory benefits like ESI, PF and gratuity. The selected candidates will be given training for two weeks on handling of soft electronics components before deploying for manufacturing operations. “These workers will be on our rolls. Their salary and other perks will be paid by us and they will be deployed at Wistron’s manufacturing plant,” Sen said.

The employees will also be provided with PPE kits, face masks, lunch and tea besides dormitory services, he said.

TeamLease is running a social media campaign for recruitment. Majority of the new jobs are reserved for locals and preference is being given to Kannada speaking candidates, he added.

Wistron is already operating an iPhone assembly plant at Peenya in Bengaluru and is producing iPhone SE since 2017. The company currently employs 3,500 people across various roles in India.

The company will manufacture selected models of iPhone depending on the orders placed by Apple. The production will be increased based on demand from Apple. Apple also intends to export iPhones produced at this factory to various markets around the world besides selling them in the Indian market, sources said.