Apple supplier Foxlink halts production at Indian facility in Andhra Pradesh after massive fire

Apple supplier Foxlink has halted production at its assembly facility in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh after a massive fire led part of the building to collapse on Monday, two local government officials told Reuters. Also Read: Apple iPad Pro Launched In India With New M5 Chip, Ultra Retina XDR Display: Price, Specs

Apple supplier Foxlink halts production in India

Foxlink, a unit of Taiwan’s Cheng Uei Precision Industry Co Ltd, makes cables for iPhone chargers. It set up a factory in Andhra in 2020. Also Read: Apple Launches 14-inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip And Up To 24-Hour Battery Life: Check Price And Availability

The fire broke out in the afternoon and damaged roughly 50 percent of the machinery at the factory, said J Ramanaiah, who leads the Fire Services Department for Tirupati district in the state. Also Read: iPhone 13 vs iPhone 14 vs iPhone 15: Best Deal To Grab This Diwali Under Rs 50000

The business impact on Apple was not immediately clear and the root cause of the incident was unknown. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An official for Foxlink did not respond to calls seeking comment.

The fire is now under control and there were no casualties, said Ramanaiah. He showed Reuters photos and videos of the factory blaze with charred machinery inside the plant and groups of firefighters trying to douse the fire. The videos and photos showed huge plumes of smoke rising from the plant.

“Management has conveyed to us that they estimate a loss of roughly 1 billion rupees ($12 million) from the incident,” Ramanaiah said.

Cupertino, California-based Apple has bet big on India since it began assembling iPhones in the country in 2017 via Wistron and later with Foxconn, in line with the Indian government’s push for local manufacturing.

It has several other supplier partners in India, with Foxlink being one of them.

–Reuters