Apple may go to China as fire halts ops at Tamil Nadu iPhone plant

Extensive damage from a fire at Tata Group's Apple iPhone component plant in Tamil Nadu forcing the US firm's suppliers to arrange critical parts from China or elsewhere.

The weekend blaze has caused an indefinite production halt at Tata's Hosur plant in Tamil Nadu, the only Indian supplier of iPhone back panels and some other parts for both contract manufacturer Foxconn in the country and its own iPhone assembly at another plant.

Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Research told media, it estimates local sales of 1.5 million units of iPhone 14 and 15 models during the Indian festive season, which runs from late October to early November with Apple struggling to fulfill as much as 15 percent of that demand due to the fire.

However, they added that if the production suspension continues, the US company could set up another assembly line in China or shift there to secure parts for India's iPhone manufacturers.

Supply chain disruptions more generally have cast a shadow over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's drive to attract foreign investors to "Make in India", especially in the electronics sector.

Apple has been diversifying beyond China but last year separate fire incidents in India caused suppliers Foxlink and Pegatron to briefly halt operations, with authorities finding much of the fire safety equipment at Foxlink's facility was not functional. Contractors Wistron and Foxconn have also been hit by labour unrest in recent years.

"These are temporary setbacks," said Prabhu Ram, vice president at Cybermedia Research. "Continued efforts to improve safety and operational standards are crucial for strengthening India's position as an emerging global electronics manufacturing hub."

The fire-hit plant employed 20,000 workers. Another unit in the same Tata complex was due to start making complete iPhones later this year and it is unclear if the incident will cause this to be delayed.