Push for ‘Make in India’: Samsung to invest Rs 1,000 crore in Chennai facility

South Korea-based Samsung Electronics will invest Rs 1,000 crore in its facility in southern India, Tamil Nadu’s industries minister announced on Friday. The move follows recent worker protests at the plant near Chennai, where employees demonstrated against suspensions, according to a Reuters report.
The facility had previously faced labour unrest, with workers staging a five-week strike in September demanding better wages and union recognition. Samsung later agreed to address some of their concerns.
Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Industries, Investment Promotion and Commerce, TRB Rajaa, said in a post on X that the new investment "reinforces their faith in the labour force of Tamil Nadu." The expansion is expected to create 100 new jobs. While the facility currently employs over 2,000 people, the union and Samsung remain at odds over allegations of union-busting—claims the company denies, stating it is fully compliant with labour laws.
The plant manufactures refrigerators, televisions, and washing machines, and accounted for nearly one-fifth of Samsung’s $12 billion revenue in India during 2022–23.
This development comes amid reports that Samsung is considering shifting a portion of its smartphone production from Vietnam to India, in response to tariff-related uncertainties stemming from US trade actions. Although the US has temporarily suspended its higher tariffs on Vietnam—bringing them in line with India’s 26 per cent—Samsung is looking to reduce its dependency on Vietnamese manufacturing.
Despite having the capacity to produce up to 70 million smartphones annually in India, Samsung's current output stands at around 43–45 million units. In FY25, smartphone exports from its Indian operations reached Rs 30,000 crore ($3.5 billion), with nearly $10 billion worth of production potentially shifting from Vietnam to India as early as this quarter, according to industry sources.