India-West News Desk
CHENNAI – Foxconn Technology Group has repatriated hundreds of Chinese engineers from its iPhone manufacturing facilities in India, raising fresh questions about the sustainability of Apple Inc.’s growing production shift to the South Asian market.
The exodus began about two months ago, with more than 300 Chinese workers already returned to China, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The remaining foreign technical staff at Foxconn’s factories in southern India are mostly from Taiwan, one source told the outlet.
The company has not provided a public explanation for the large-scale pullout. But the move coincides with a broader effort by Beijing to slow the migration of high-end manufacturing out of China. Earlier this year, Chinese authorities gave verbal instructions to local governments and regulators to restrict technology transfers and exports of manufacturing equipment to India and Southeast Asia, Bloomberg previously reported.
Chinese engineers have been instrumental in training Indian staff ever since Apple began scaling up production in India roughly four years ago. Their sudden departure may not affect product quality, but could reduce assembly-line efficiency, one person familiar with the operations told Bloomberg.
Apple’s primary iPhone assembler, Foxconn, is currently building a new iPhone plant in India and gearing up with partners to begin production of the iPhone 17 in the country. The retreat of Chinese talent now injects a layer of uncertainty into Apple’s efforts to diversify its supply chain away from China.
