India’s Foxconn plans to increase manpower by 4 times due to decline in Chinese iPhone production

India is ramping up production of the latest iPhones while China, the world’s largest iPhone maker, is under lockdown due to the virus.

According to recent estimates, nearly 95% of the world’s total iPhone production is made in China. 80% of all iPhones produced by Foxconn, Apple’s largest iPhone contract factory, are made in China. Now, the Foxconn factory in Yizhoumyo is partially closed due to the Chinese government’s Zero COVID policy.

The shutdown of the iPhone factory has hit Apple’s latest iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max production the worst. Apple itself has officially warned that it will have trouble meeting production targets in the next few months due to production cuts. Normally, the Cupertino-based company does not make such information public.

A local government source told Reuters that Foxconn plans to quadruple the workforce at factories in India as Chinese iPhone production declines. Due to the 4-fold increase in factory workers, the current Foxconn factory workforce in India will increase from 17,000 to 70,000. Reuters reports that “Foxconn, an Apple supplier, plans to quadruple its iPhone factory workforce in India over the next two years to adjust iPhone production due to production disruptions in China.”

A 4-fold increase in the workforce is planned within 2 years, so there is no way to solve the current production crisis. As China has completely eradicated the virus and closed down travel to areas where the virus has been infected, Apple, which is dependent on China for iPhone production, will suffer economic losses. Under these conditions, Apple is planning to reduce its dependence on China and increase production in foreign countries.

Conclusion

According to a report by JP Morgan market analysts, 25% of iPhone production will come to India by 2025. Apple has started assembling this year’s iPhone 14 in India, just a few weeks after starting production in China. Starting next year, the iPhone 15 will be manufactured simultaneously in Indian factories alongside Chinese factories.