- The Pegatron fire incident caused iPhone production to temporarily stop.
- No casualties have been reported in the incident.
- Currently, iPhones are assembled in India by at least three of Apple’s global suppliers – Foxconn and Pegatron in Tamil Nadu, and Wistron in Karnataka.
Apple’s contract manufacturer Pegatron’s factory in Chennai caught fire on Sunday night and production was halted. Although the incident has been termed “minor,” the iPhone assembly at the plant has been stopped for two days. So, here’s what happened.
Pegatron fire: What caused it?
- A fire broke out at Mahindra World City in Chengalpet, near Chennai on Sunday, i.e., September 24th night, as reported by Reuters. Apparently, it took multiple fire engines from different stations and about five hours to douse the fire.
- Fortunately, the company said, “There are no injuries, no casualties, nor damage to other assets. The incident does not have significant financial or operational impact to Pegatron Corporation”.
- As per the initial investigation, the fire was caused by a short circuit and police called the incident a minor one.
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- In a statement, Pegatron said it was a “spark incident”, “nothing major” and that things are “under control”.
- The bystanders have reported witnessing the smoke from the incident spreading across the region. People had gathered at the factory’s entrance gate and the company security guards had to disperse the crowd.
- As mentioned before, iPhone production was halted for two days without giving a reason to the workers.
Nevertheless, this has been the fourth such production-halting incident at an iPhone plant. First, in 2020, there was a worker’s strike for pay parity at the Wistron plant. Then, in 2021, there was a food poisoning case in the Foxconn facility. And earlier this year, in February 2023, a fire at the Foxlink factory also halted production of iPhone charging cables.
iPhone production at Pegatron, India
Pegatron is Apple’s second-largest manufacturer in India accounting for around 10 percent of the total iPhone production in the country. It assembles around 8,000-12,000 iPhones per day and has a capacity of up to 26,000 units a day.
It started off the business in the state of Tamil Nadu in 2022. It has invested about Rs 1,100 crore and employs about 14,000 workers.
Currently, iPhones are assembled in India by at least three of Apple’s global suppliers – Foxconn and Pegatron in Tamil Nadu, and Wistron in Karnataka. Pegatron is Apple’s second largest contract manufacturer.
