Apple Partner Foxconn To Shift Its Plant From China To India

iPhone maker Foxconn is shifting its manufacturing plant from China to Telangana with an investment of 5,763 crore which will generate 1 lakh jobs.

Apple Inc. partner Foxconn Technology Group intends to spend around $700 million on a new plant in India to increase local production, reflecting an accelerated transfer of production away from China as Washington-Beijing tensions rise.

The people, who wished to remain anonymous because the information is private, claim that the Taiwanese company, also known for its flagship unit Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., intends to construct the plant to manufacture iPhone parts on a 300-acre site close to the airport in Bengaluru, the state capital of Karnataka in southern India. 

According to some of the sources, the plant may potentially assemble Apple’s mobile devices. Foxconn may also utilize the location to make some parts for its fledgling electric vehicle industry.

The investment highlights how China is in danger of losing its position as the top producer of consumer electronics in the world and is one of Foxconn’s largest single expenditures in India to date. 

Apple and other US companies are relying on their Chinese suppliers to look into alternate countries like Vietnam and India. 

The pandemic and the crisis in Ukraine have hastened a reconsideration of the global supply chain that could alter how electronics are produced globally.

According to the sources, the new manufacturing facility in India is predicted to generate roughly 100,000 employees. 

Currently, there are about 200,000 workers at the company’s massive iPhone assembly facility in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, though that number rises during the busiest production period.

Due to Covid-related problems, output at the Zhengzhou facility dropped ahead of the year-end holidays, prompting Apple to review its China-dependent supply chain. 

The current action by Foxconn shows that suppliers may shift capacity out of China much more quickly than anticipated.

The people stated that because Foxconn is still finalizing the project and investment details, the plans could yet be altered. 

It’s also not clear if Foxconn is transferring manufacturing from other locations, including its Chinese operations, to the plant, which has new capacity.

Apple opted not to respond. An email requesting comment from Hon Hai, whose Chairman Young Liu visited with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, did not receive a prompt response. 

The state government of Karnataka also didn’t respond right away. While on tour in India, Liu has agreed to participate in a new industrial venture in the nearby Telangana state.

Foxconn’s decision would be a victory for Modi’s administration, which sees a chance to reduce the tech gap between India and China as Western investors as well as corporations become weary of Beijing’s repression of the private sector.

India has provided monetary incentives to Apple suppliers like Foxconn, which started producing the newest iPhones at a facility in Tamil Nadu last year. 

Also Read:- Ferrari Backs F1 Online Gaming Strategy With VGW Alliance

Smaller competitors Wistron Corp. and Pegatron Corp. have also increased their presence in India, while local vendors like Jabil Inc. have started producing AirPods’ parts.