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iPhone manufacturer Foxconn has sent more than 300 Chinese engineers and technicians back home from its factories in India, a Bloomberg report said on Thursday.
The bulk of the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer’s Chinese staff at iPhone plants in southern India were told to leave, in a move that began about two months ago, the outlet said, citing people familiar with the matter. At the moment, only support staff from Taiwan are in India, the report said.
The reason for Foxconn’s decision to send the employees back is unclear; however, it comes amid reports that Chinese officials verbally urged regulatory agencies and local governments to restrict technology transfers and equipment exports to India and Southeast Asia, the report said.
This move may be an attempt to discourage companies from shifting manufacturing operations away from China, according to industry watchers.
While Foxconn still makes most iPhones in China, it has gradually built sizable assembly operations in India in recent years. It had deployed a large number of experienced Chinese engineers in the country to help speed up its expansion. The sudden removal of these workers from India's manufacturing operations is likely to hinder the training of local employees and the transfer of manufacturing technology from China, potentially increasing production costs, the report said.
While the departure of Chinese workers is not expected to impact the quality of production in India, it may affect the efficiency of the assembly line, Bloomberg said. In May, the Taiwanese manufacturer said that it would invest $1.5 billion in India in an attempt to mitigate potential American tariff risks in China. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook has also confirmed a production shift to India. During the company’s quarterly earnings call in May, he said, “the majority of iPhones sold in the US will have India as their country of origin.”
