Apple plans 25 pct iPhones from India – report; Wipro fires 300 for moonlighting; KPIT buys Technica Engineering

Apple is gearing up to make India and Vietnam global manufacturing hubs for its products, with India contributing 25 percent of all iPhones by 2025, according to analysts at JP Morgan, TechCrunch reports. Wipro terminated the services of 300 staff members who were found to be working for its competitors while still being on the company’s payroll, Economic Times reports. And KPIT Technologies takes a big stride in software-defined vehicles with a German acquisition.  Apple is gearing up to make India and Vietnam global manufacturing hubs for its products, according to analysts at JP Morgan, TechCrunch reports. In a report to clients Wednesday, JP Morgan analysts estimate Apple will move 5 percent of global iPhone 14 production to India by late 2022 and expand its manufacturing capacity in the country to produce 25 percent of all iPhones by 2025. Vietnam will contribute 20 percent of all iPad and Apple Watch production, 5 percent of MacBook and 65 percent of AirPods by 2025, the report said, which was reviewed by TechCrunch. Wipro terminated the services of 300 staff members who were found to be working for its competitors while still being on the company’s payroll, Executive Chairman Rishad Premji said on Wednesday, Economic Times reports. "It is very simple. It is an act of integrity violation. We terminated the services of those people,” Premji said, in reply to a question from ET on the side lines of the 49th All India Management Association’s convention in New Delhi. India’s cabinet of ministers, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, yesterday unanimously approved modifications in the programme for development of semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem in India, paving the way for providing fiscal support of 50 percent of project costs for all technology nodes under the government’s scheme for setting up of semiconductor fabs in India. Based on discussions with potential investors, it is expected that work on setting up of the first semiconductor facility will commence soon, according to the statement. KPIT Technologies, a software integration partner for the automotive and mobility industry in Pune, has acquired Germany’s Technica Engineering that will add significant softwared-defined vehicle capabilities to the Mumbai-listed company. Under the terms of the all-cash deal, KPIT will pay 80 million euros ($78.5 million) over the next six months and an additional maximum of 30 million euros over the following two and half years, the company said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange. Technica Engineering specializes in production-ready system prototyping, automotive ethernet products, and tools for validation. The Munich-headquartered company has a presence in Spain, Tunisia, and the US, with a team of about 600 engineers. The deal is expected to be closed by the end of October. Theme music courtesy Free Music & Sounds: https://soundcloud.com/freemusicandsounds