Apple supplier Foxconn has ordered the hiring agents that help recruit iPhone assembly workers in India to remove age, gender and marital criteria, as well as the manufacturer's name, in job advertisements, according to three people familiar with the matter and almost a dozen ads reviewed by Reuters. The moves follow an investigation published June 25 that found Foxconn excluded married women from jobs at its main India iPhone assembly plant, though it relaxed the practice during high-production periods.
Foxconn, which employs thousands of women at the iPhone factory at Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, outsources recruitment of assembly-line workers to third-party vendors. These agents scout for and screen candidates, who ultimately are interviewed and selected by Foxconn.
For the June story, Reuters reviewed job ads posted by Foxconn's Indian hiring vendors between January 2023 and May 2024 which stated that only unmarried women of specified ages were eligible for smartphone assembly roles, contravening Apple and Foxconn antidiscrimination policies.
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