Three workers die at Tata’s iPhone parts plant in India’s Tamil Nadu

The workers were among a group assigned to clean an effluent treatment plant (ETP) at a facility in Hosur, senior district official Dinesh Kumar told The New Indian Express. The three workers were taken to a private hospital, where doctors declared them dead on arrival, TNIE cited Kumar as saying. The salt-to-aviation Tata Group’s electronics unit accounts for roughly 40 percent of iPhone assembly in India, and Foxconn makes up ‌‌the rest.

Tata has in recent months faced many challenges as its iPhone-making operations have been hit by a ransomware attack and concerns about water pollution. Over the years, as Apple expanded manufacturing beyond China, India has emerged as a key hub, which now accounts for roughly 25 percent of the world’s iPhones. Tamil Nadu is a key industrial hub in India, hosting factories ⁠⁠of many global giants, such as Foxconn, Hyundai, VinFast and BMW.

The state’s minister for industries, Virudhai Magal Keerthana, said in a post on X that the worker deaths will ⁠⁠be “thoroughly investigated and appropriate action will be taken based on the findings”.