Apple’s India Dream Wavers as Foxconn Retreats to China
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Apple’s plans to move more of its iPhone production from China to India has taken a bit of a blow as iPhone manufacturing partner Foxconn recalls hundreds of Chinese engineers and technicians back to China from its Indian facilities, reports Bloomberg.
According to Bloomberg’s sources, who are “people familiar with the matter,” Foxconn is in the process of telling a large number of Chinese workers to return to China. Those workers had been employed at the company’s iPhone manufacturing facilities, located in southern India. Foxconn initiated the return process approximately two months ago, and more than 300 Chinese workers have since returned to China. This comes, even as the company is constructing a new production facility in India.
The returning workers primarily include engineers and technicians responsible for providing on-site support for operations. These workers reportedly played a central role in training local Indian workers on production processes. Foxconn is allowing Taiwanese support personnel to remain in India, said one source.
Foxconn is Apple’s largest iPhone assembly partner and has headed most of the Cupertino company’s manufacturing expansion into India. Apple is currently working with its component manufacturing and assembly partners to ramp up production of the upcoming iPhone 17.
While the specific reasoning behind the withdrawal of Chinese personnel from India has not been officially announced, Bloomberg suggests the move is a result of Foxconn’s desire to placate Chinese government authorities who wish to put tighter reins on Chinese companies’ export of labor, technology, and equipment to India and other parts of Southeast Asia. Many Chinese manufacturers are moving production outside of China as they face pressure from Apple and other global companies to diversify their supply chain to include companies outside of China.
India and several other companies, such as Vietnam, are working to attract global tech companies to their borders, as US-China trade/tariff tensions pressure firms to diversify their manufacturing and assembly.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has in the past expressed appreciation for the expertise of Chinese workers, saying it is one of the core reasons the country remains central to its manufacturing and supply chain for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other devices and accessories.
While Foxconn’s recall of Chinese workers isn’t expected to adversely affect the quality of iPhones produced in India, the lack of experienced Chinese staff at the Indian assembly plants could reduce the operational efficiency of the assembly lines, possibly resulting in lowered production numbers.
Foxconn’s Indian assembly facility began cranking out iPhones at scale around four years ago, and the country now makes a fifth of the iPhones sold globally. While Apple is aiming to assemble most of the iPhones sold in the US in India by late 2026, US President Donald Trump has heavily criticized the plan. The president has been quoted as saying Apple should make iPhones for American customers in the United States.
For the time being, Foxconn will continue to manufacture the lion’s share of Apple’s iPhones inside Chinese borders. What remains to be seen is whether the withdrawal of Chinese personnel from the company’s Indian facilities will hamper the company’s ability to meet Apple’s high product standards.
