Report: Foxconn with problems in Indian iPhone factories
Apple wants to develop the subcontinent into a major production location and needs its manufacturers to do so.
Apple boss Tim Cook at Foxconn in China.
(Image: Apple)
Foxconn is apparently experiencing difficulties in its new large-scale iPhone factories in India. This was reported by the US tech platform Rest of World, which is dedicated to reporting on technology issues in the Global South. According to the report, the Taiwanese manufacturer, which bears the brunt of Apple's smartphone production, has stopped sending employees from China to the subcontinent to work on site and train Indian employees. In addition, there are allegedly problems with the delivery of necessary machinery.
Problems from Beijing and New Delhi
Apple has recently invested heavily in India in order to make the country the second largest production location for iPhones – and other hardware – in the future. As usual, the company uses large OEM companies to operate the actual factories. In India, these include Foxconn and Flex (formerly Flextronics). Pegatron and the local supplier Tata. One of the reasons for the problems in India is geopolitical: China and India are in an ongoing diplomatic crisis. Special equipment for the Indian factories is said to have been held up by Beijing, while Chinese Foxconn employees are not allowed to leave the country. Foxconn has therefore started to bring employees from Taiwan to India. Foxconn is also said to have already withdrawn Chinese employees from India.
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iPhones have been manufactured in Tamil Nadu since 2019, and the latest generation is now being produced quite quickly. However, according to Rest of World, the factories are still heavily dependent on expats from China and Taiwan, who are used as managers, engineers, technicians and support staff to manage production. In addition to Beijing, New Delhi is also said to be putting on the brakes, with visas not being issued in some cases. In response, Foxconn is also said to have expanded the supply of preliminary products from China for iPhone production. These "semi-finished" models are then finally assembled in India.
Relocation to India actually successful
So far, the relocation of parts of iPhone production from India to China has actually gone well, writes Rest of World. In the fiscal year to the end of March 2024, Apple is said to have already manufactured iPhones worth 14 billion US dollars in India, with a total of one in seven devices.
Beijing seems understandably unhappy with this. A researcher at Princeton University told Rest of World that it is possible that China was surprised by the rapid implementation – or even by the fact that the iPhone production move was possible. Beijing could now try to slow down the process. Apple itself always emphasizes that India should be an additional manufacturer, but that it still sees a future in China.
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