Foxconn Technology Group has instructed more than 300 Chinese engineers and technicians to leave its iPhone assembly plants in southern India and return to China, people familiar with the matter said. The quiet withdrawal, which began roughly two months ago, affects facilities in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka that build current models and are preparing for the forthcoming iPhone 17 line.
The repatriation threatens to slow Apple Inc.’s effort to expand manufacturing beyond China. India assembled about $22 billion worth of iPhones in the year to March, roughly one-fifth of global output, and Foxconn is racing to add capacity and workers ahead of the iPhone 17 launch later this year. Chinese managers have been pivotal in training local staff and transferring high-precision manufacturing know-how; their departure could reduce line-side efficiency and delay further scale-up, industry executives said.
The move coincides with Beijing’s broader push to curb the outflow of advanced equipment and skilled labour, and follows new Chinese controls on technology exports and rare-earth metals. Neither Foxconn nor Apple has commented publicly. New Delhi is monitoring the situation, according to officials at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, who also view the gap as an opportunity to diversify the talent pool by bringing in specialists from Taiwan, Vietnam and the United States.
Market reactions are mixed. Prominent Apple supply-chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo called the impact “negligible,” noting that Foxconn’s Indian capacity was largely established by Taiwanese teams and that few Chinese staff remained on site. Other analysts cautioned that even a temporary dip in productivity could complicate Apple’s timetable for shifting more of its high-end iPhone production to India.
Chinese restrictions on supplies of #rareearth minerals and #fertilisers and the country calling back specialised technicians from India have put policymakers in New Delhi in a tough spot.
#IndiaChinaTrade #IndiaChinaRelations #Foxconn | @shreyanandi15
#TechWithMC | Govt sees Foxconn's Chinese staff exit as a challenge, but also opportunity to diversify workforce
#Technology #Foxconn #China
Details by @AihikS ⤵️
