Apple’s India expansion hits a snag, as 300 Chinese support staff are recalled

Foxconn, a key manufacturing partner to Apple, has in its bid to diversify its supply chain beyond China, recalled over 300 Chinese engineers and technicians from its India assembly plants over the past two months.

This unexpected shift comes right in the middle of Apple’s journey to reach its next milestone, with the iPhone 17 series launch lined up, as it ramps up its efforts to expand its footprint in India, which already accounts for nearly 20 per cent of the global iPhone output.

The Chinese support staff, however, form just 1 per cent of Foxconn’s workforce in India. Yet, this minority occupies key major technical and operational roles — managing production lines, ensuring quality checks and overseeing factory automation — at the China-based company’s plants.

After this decision, the assembly plants are mostly left with Taiwanese support staff to stay operational. As per a statement issued by a senior official from Foxconn to NDTV Profit, this move is being seen as a “temporary disruption [that will last] about a month or two”.

The official further added, “There’s no shortage of skilled workers here, and many local firms have started building key components, machinery within India.”

There has been no official response issued by Apple so far.

However, one can connect the dots, with Donald Trump’s recent threat to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Apple if it continues to manufacture its products for the United States in India.

Adding to this is the ongoing geopolitical negotiation between China and the United States, which led to a trade deal between the two countries in June 2025 for rare earth metals and magnets, to establish a “green channel”.

But the same is not applicable to India, as China continues to delay the shipments of critical manufacturing machinery and restrict import of rare-earth magnets. According to the International Energy Agency, China accounts for 61 per cent of global mined rare earth production but controls 92 per cent of the global output.

According to a report by the Times of India, the Chinese government has instructed some of its nationals to leave India due to worsening trade relations and visa restrictions.

Foxconn is aiming to invest $2.56 billion to set up a new 300-acre facility in Devanahalli, located about 34 km from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport. With the capacity of producing 1 lakh iPhones by December 2025, this plant is expected to become Foxconn’s largest manufacturing facility in the world.