Foxconn has unexpectedly withdrawn key Chinese specialists from its iPhone assembly plants in India — right as #Apple ramps up production of the iPhone 17 in South Asia.
🤔 What happened
⚫ Over 300 Chinese engineers and technicians have left India under Foxconn’s orders
⚫ The move may be tied to informal pressure from Beijing to limit technology and equipment exports to India
⚫ This complicates the transfer of know-how and the training of local staff
⚫ Apple CEO Tim Cook had previously emphasized that Chinese worker expertise was key to iPhone production efficiency
🤔 Implications for Apple
📌 India’s production localization may slow down, and costs could rise
📌 Plans to launch the iPhone 17 and a new Foxconn plant in South India may be disrupted
📌 Apple aims to shift up to 50% of iPhone production for the U.S. to India by 2026 — but this could derail that goal
📌 Amid trade wars and Trump-era tariffs, iPhone manufacturing in the U.S. remains unrealistic due to high costs
🗣 “India now makes one-fifth of the world’s iPhones. But without Chinese engineers, this growth could stall,” Bloomberg sources say