The Chinese Dragon is once again in the Indian Elephant's growth! India's hopes of manufacturing iPhones for the Global Market have taken a huge blow, since Foxconn Group has ordered all Chinese Engineers who are working in Apple's India factories to return home.
According to a Bloomberg Report, 300 Chinese Engineers and Technicians working in Indian production units have already returned home. This move is a major hurdle for Apple who has taken significant steps to manufacture its latest iPhone 17 series lineup in India. Although there are contingencies in place by Apple for such setbacks, still the output and production of devices will initially take a blow.
Is China Involved?
Yes! Well, the answer to this question is easy but complex. Although the Chinese Communist Government has ordered its local governments and other agencies involved to stop the flow of technology to India and countries like Vietnam. Apple Management had earlier this year announced a shift in strategies, leaving the industry amazed by announcing increased smartphone production from factories in India. This move was seen as a step by Apple to diversify its production and reduce dependency on China, all of this to safeguard itself from a potential Tariff War between the US and China.
However, this decision obviously did not go well with Beijing who saw this as a major threat to its Manufacturing prowess. Therefore, announcing a call back of their skilled workers.
India's Ramping Up Production?
Apple has just started manufacturing its iPhones here in 2021. Nonetheless, in such a span of time, Indian factories have rapidly scaled up their production output to such an extent that they now make a fifth of all iPhones. Additionally, ever since President Trump has announced potential Tariffs on Chinese imports, Apple has announced it will start manufacturing all of its latest iPhone 17 lineup here.
If we dive deep into the numbers, then we can see the above statements corroborating an increase in production of devices of 60 percent on a year-to-year basis. Moreover, according to official figures, 22 billion dollars worth of iPhones have already been "pieced together" in India.
What the Future Looks Like?
According to a report by Economic Times, Foxconn, the company that hails from Taiwan, was willing to start manufacturing the frames of the iPhone devices in its existing factories. Additionally, the company announced an expansion strategy by promising to set up a new production unit in Tamil Nadu's business parks.
However, Chinese Engineers going back will leave only a handful of technicians from Taiwan to train Indian workers. The imminent impact of this will be seen in the form of reduced production line efficiency, while the quality of the smartphone will remain the same. The iPhone 17 series, which is set to be assembled in India, will be delayed a bit now.
The Indian government claims it's monitoring the situation while saying it does not see any geopolitical angle to it since it's a conflict between Apple and Foxconn.