By Praveen Paramasivam
SRIPERUMBUDUR, India (Reuters) – Foxconn’s chairman defended his hiring practices on Saturday after New Delhi ordered an investigation into a Reuters report that the Apple (NASDAQ:) supplier turns away married women from iPhone assembly jobs.
“Foxconn hires regardless of gender, but women make up a large part of our workforce here,” Young Liu said at the opening ceremony of a hostel complex for its employees near Chennai in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
“I emphasize that married women contribute greatly to the efforts of what we are doing here,” he added, making his first comments since the Reuters investigation.
Liu did not answer media questions at the hostel complex that the state government says is “exclusive” to 18,720 female Foxconn employees. The multi-storey hostel buildings are located close to the iPhone factory.
The Reuters investigation published in June found that Foxconn systematically excludes married women from jobs at its main iPhone assembly plant in India because they have more family responsibilities than their unmarried counterparts.
Foxconn acknowledged some shortcomings in its 2022 hiring practices and said it had worked to address the problems, but added that it “strongly refutes allegations of employment discrimination.”
The story led to TV debates and editorials in newspapers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s federal government ordered Tamil Nadu to submit a “detailed report” on it, and its labor officials also visited the iPhone factory to question executives. New Delhi has not yet released any findings.
Foxconn told labor officials that its main iPhone factory in India employs 41,281 people, including 33,360 women. Of these women, about 2,750, or about 8%, were married.
It did not break down workforce figures by specific areas, such as iPhone assembly, where Reuters reported the discrimination occurred.
Foxconn has expanded in India in recent years, where it makes iPhones and products for other smartphone brands, and has plans to move into AirPods and chip making.
Liu has met Modi and many top Indian officials and discussed Foxconn’s investment plans during his ongoing visit.
