Synopsis
Tata Electronics has significantly expanded its workforce to 75,000, surpassing Foxconn and becoming Apple's largest contract manufacturer by headcount. This rapid growth, driven by its Hosur facility, highlights India's emergence as a key electronics manufacturing hub and Tata's strategic move towards higher-value segments in the supply chain.Listen to this article in summarized format
They have managed to satisfy Apple's stringent metrics, met surging demand and have laid out a blueprint for other homegrown firms to emulate.” ET was first to report in November last year that Tata Electronics was looking to expand its workforce from around 60,000 then to 75,000 in six months.
Tata Electronics and Apple didn’t respond to queries.
“Tata Electronics has around 75,000 people employed across their facilities in Hosur as well as the Pegatron and Wistron facilities that they acquired,” another person told ET. “Currently, they are indeed ahead of Foxconn in terms of their headcount but Foxconn will reclaim its top spot as the Devanahalli plant ramps up later this year. But it is the speed with which Tata Electronics has scaled that is compelling.”
Experts said this was a significant milestone as the plant was only established in 2020, demonstrating that local champions can successfully scale operations to compete with global contract manufacturing veterans.
“With 75,000 employees supporting its rapidly expanding EMS (electronics manufacturing services) operations, Tata Electronics has reached the critical mass needed to credibly transition toward higher-value segments of the supply chain,” said Prabhu Ram, vice president, industry research group, Cyber Media Research. “Backed by improving process discipline, supplier management, and ramp capability, Tata remains in the early innings of a space long dominated by Taiwanese, Korean, and Chinese manufacturers.”
The development also reflects India’s rise as a credible, mature electronics manufacturing hub for global OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) such as Apple.
“The progress is supported by a growing base of skilled labour, structured training programmes, rising localisation levels, and strong policy tailwinds,” Ram said. “As India’s electronics strategy continues to emphasise deeper component ecosystems and scale in higher-value categories, Tata Electronics is well positioned to align with and benefit from this shift.”
Moving upstream
Now that “assembly scale” had been achieved, the company should evolve toward deeper upstream value chain localisation, multi-site resilience to reduce concentration risk, and steer sustained enhancements in quality and yield, he said.
“Tata’s stated roadmap—spanning semiconductor fabrication, OSAT (outsourced semiconductor assembly and test), advanced packaging, workforce capability building, and broader supply chain resilience—remains directionally aligned with these goals,” he said.
Tata Electronics' expansion comes as Apple has been stepping up its India engagement. In February, ET had reported that Apple’s iPhone was the single most valuable export from India in 2025 with as much as $23 billion of the devices being shipped out from factories in the country, mostly to the US.
The Cupertino-based giant’s success in India has been attributed in major part to the smartphone production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme as well as the American handset maker’s ability to expand production by bringing Indian units such as those of the Tata Group into its supply chain, instead of depending solely on Chinese companies.
