Wistron plant violence: Enough stocks of iPhone SE 2020, says Apple

Labour trouble at the Wistron plant in Bengaluru has not affected Apple Inc, which has enough stocks of iPhone SE 2020 and is in a position to divert the ones for export to the market in India. 

It will continue to manufacture the model in accordance with the existing order because only new orders have been put on hold. 

iPhone SE 2020 is one of the popular phones like Apple 11, which is the biggest seller in the domestic market.

Sources in the know say Apple Inc does not need to increase imports of iPhones due to the disruption at the Wistron factory.  New orders will be given to Wistron, now under probation, only after it has settled its labour issues.

Analysts say last year 75-80 per cent of its phones sold in India were manufactured in the country and the bulk of those were iPhone SE, iPhone 11, and 10R. 

This year, analysts say, it expects to sell over 2 million phones, especially after smuggling fell dramatically due to restricted flights between Dubai and the US.  

Sources say a preliminary assessment has found that no stocks of phones have been stolen. Only phones on assembly lines were attacked by workers, who have been agitating on labour issues. So sufficient stocks are available, and also the peak season for sales, which is November-December, is getting over. 

In response to a query, Apple Inc said it had nothing to say on the matter.

The company’s biggest sellers in the country, iPhone 11, as well as the iPhone XR, will not face any hindrance because they are manufactured at the Foxconn plant in Chennai. 

And the iPhone 12 and Pro Max are imported. However, Foxconn is expected to manufacture iPhone 12 as part of Apple’s plan.

Wistron will be manufacturing iPhone 12 Mini sometime in February and March next year. The model till then will be imported. However, analysts say by then it is expected the Taiwanese company will solve its labour issues and the probation might no longer be applicable.

As the iPhone 12 Mini pricing falls in the same bracket as that of iPhone 11, which is a much bigger phone and has caught the fancy of Indian consumers, its sales will not be less than 5 per cent of the total, analysts say.