Apple supplier Foxconn has directed its recruitment agents in the country to remove age, gender, marital status criteria, and the company’s name from job advertisements for iPhone assembly positions, news agency Reuters reported.
Foxconn, which employs numerous women at its Sriperumbudur iPhone facility near Chennai, relies on third-party vendors for assembly-line worker recruitment. These vendors identify and evaluate candidates before Foxconn’s final interview and selection process.
This move comes following an investigation by news agency Reuters, published on June 25, which examined job advertisements from Foxconn’s Indian hiring vendors between January 2023 and May 2024, that specified eligibility criteria limited to unmarried women of particular ages for smartphone assembly positions, contradicting both Apple and Foxconn’s anti-discrimination policies.
In late June, Foxconn’s HR executives provided standardised recruitment templates to vendors and instructed them to avoid media contact. During this meeting, vendors were warned about contract termination if they continued using Foxconn’s name in advertisements, news agency Reuters said in its report, quoting sources.
The instructions for ads were: Don’t mention the unmarried requirement, don’t mention age, nor male or female either.
Recent advertisements reflect these changes. A new template advertises smartphone assembly positions without mentioning Foxconn or demographic criteria, listing benefits such as “Air conditioned workplace, free transport, canteen facility, free hostel” with a monthly salary of 14,974 rupees.
During a visit to India in August, Foxconn Chairperson Young Liu acknowledged married women’s contributions to their operations. He also met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the company’s investment plans in India.
