More than 300 Chinese iPhone engineers and technicians have been recalled from an Indian production plant, says a new report.
No public acknowledgement or explanation has been offered, but suspicion is falling on the Chinese government, which has previously been accused of actively hampering Apple’s attempts to move more iPhone production out of the country …
Mystery recall of iPhone engineers
Bloomberg reports.
Foxconn has asked hundreds of Chinese engineers and technicians to return home from its iPhone factories in India, dealing a blow to Apple’s manufacturing push in the South Asian country. The bulk of Foxconn’s Chinese staff at iPhone plants in southern India have been told to fly back in a move that began about two months ago, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named as the information is private. More than 300 Chinese workers have left, and mostly support staff from Taiwan remain in India, one of the people said.
Apple declined to comment, and Foxconn didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Fits a recent pattern of Chinese interference
While nobody is saying anything about why the move has happened, it seems consistent with a reported pattern of the Chinese government attempting to interfere with Apple’s plans to diversify production outside of the country.
India has grown into a major secondary manufacturing hub for Apple, the company gradually ramping up production from just the iPhone SE to now making the latest flagship phones.
The chaos created by tariffs on products imported from China has created yet another incentive for Apple to move more production to India, and the number of Made in India iPhones is expected to more than double this year. It’s been widely reported that Apple has set a goal of making 25% of iPhones in India by 2027.
... continue reading