Foxconn asks hundreds of Chinese engineers, technicians to return home from iPhone factories in India: Report
Foxconn
Technology Group has asked hundreds of Chinese engineers and technicians to return home from its iPhone factories in India, reported Bloomberg quoting its sources.
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. More than 300
Chinese workers
have left, and mostly support staff from Taiwan remain in India, reported Bloomberg.
The change comes at a bad time for Apple, as it is preparing to ramp up production of the new iPhone 17 with its manufacturing partners in India. ET had recently reported that Taiwan's Foxconn is eyeing manufacturing iPhone enclosures in India and is looking at setting up a new unit within the ESR Industrial Park at Oragadam in Tamil Nadu for this purpose.
Apple assembled $22 billion worth of iPhones in India in the 12 months through March, increasing production by nearly 60% over the previous year.
Foxconn's move follows the steps Beijing has taken to make it harder for technology, skilled labor and specialized equipment to leave China for manufacturing upstarts such as India.
Live Events
Chinese managers have been critical in training Foxconn staff in India. The South Asian nation began assembling iPhones at scale just four years ago, and now accounts for a fifth of the global output. Apple has been planning to build most iPhones for the US in India by late 2026, a move that Trump has criticized.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
32 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
More of Trump trade uncertainty
When President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on April 2, he marked the end of an era in global trade where the US was both a vanguard of the rules-based multilateral trade order and the largest market for many exporters. This arrangement did not just help exporters, the US too had access to cheap goods. Before the tariffs could kick in, Trump put them on hold till July 9 during which period bilateral deals were to be negotiated on terms beneficial to the US. A day before the deadline was supposed to expire, the US announced almost identical tariffs on 14 countries — they range from Japan to Myanmar in economic importance and India is yet to get a 'letter' — and threatened significant additional tariffs in case they retaliate. To be sure, Trump has kicked the can of tariff imposition down the road once more, this time to August 1. A few days ago, he announced a differentiated tariff deal with Vietnam: 20% for Vietnamese goods and 40% on trans-shipments (read redirected Chinese exports to the US). A temporary truce with China had been struck even earlier. Is there a larger takeaway from all this? Three observations can be made. One, Trump seems to have overestimated his deal making abilities with other countries. The tariffs are pretty much what they were in April, and the announcements have been unilateral rather than bilateral. Two, the US's approach to trade has now clearly shifted from a 'target China' strategy to 'target everyone'. While Trump has agreed to a 55% tariff on China as part of a temporary truce, tariffs on other countries are also significantly high, even though lower than China. The rest of the world will clearly take note of this. Three, and this is the most important, is the message that in order to negotiate with the US, one has to have a strong bargaining chip now. Trump's détente with China came after the latter held back its critical rare earth mineral supplies, the lack of which would have crippled electronics manufacturing in the US. Countries which do not have such cards against the US are being dealt a much worse deal. To be sure, Trump's ultimate test would be whether the US economy can survive the inflationary impact of these tariffs as and when they kick in. The August 1 deadline might well be extended once again. Uncertainty is the only certainty now.
Hindustan Times
36 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
EU to set up Critical Chemical Alliance to secure supply chains
* EU to set up Critical Chemical Alliance to secure supply chains Critical Chemical Alliance to tackle supply chain dependencies and distortions * EU chemical production faces competition from cheaper U.S. and Chinese rivals * Commission to expand state aid and simplify rules for chemicals industry By Julia Payne BRUSSELS, - The European Commission will work with EU member states and the chemicals sector to support production of chemicals identified as critical for Europe's industrial supply chains, the EU executive said on Tuesday. It said it will establish later this year a Critical Chemical Alliance, bringing together the Commission, member states, and various stakeholders as part of a wider plan to revive Europe's chemicals industry The chemical alliance will "identify critical production sites needing policy support and tackle trade issues like supply chain dependencies and distortions," the Commission said in a statement. The move mirrors another alliance set up to identify metals and minerals key for the energy transition. The EU then set targets for mining, processing and recycling of 17 strategic materials. Chemicals are a fundamental input for nearly all industries from textiles and defence to tech and account for 1.2 million direct jobs in the EU. However, chemical production plunged during the COVID-19 pandemic and it has not fully recovered in the face of competition with U.S. and Chinese rivals that benefit from significantly cheaper energy and production costs. Commission officials said more than 20 chemical sites have closed over the last two years, with petrochemicals and ammonia "under severe pressure". "First and foremost, there is the issue of sovereignty: keeping our steam crackers," European Commission Executive Vice President and industry commissioner Stephane Sejourne told reporters. Steam crackers, a unit in petrochemical plants, produce building block chemicals ethylene and propylene, which are used in everything from plastic food packaging and rubber to car headlights and fleece hoodies. The EU has around 40 steam crackers. On Monday, chemicals giant Dow said it planned to shut two plants in Germany and one in Britain over the next two years. Sejourne told reporters the alliance would evaluate the bloc's dependence on imports in the context of the importance of the molecule. "We are 80% dependent on foreign imports for methanol, for example, and if we look at the critical production sites, we need to safeguard and retain European sovereignty... Work will be done to identify these molecules, and the plan proposes to move forward on a kind of Critical Molecules Act." Further, the Commission will include chemicals in future trade agreements and strengthen surveillance of chemical imports. The Commission has already opened 18 trade defence investigations into different molecules since 2024. To compensate for high energy prices, the Commission will expand state aid, speed up permitting and provide energy guarantees from EU funds. The Commission will also include EU-content criteria in public procurement for chemicals, an effort being promoted across EU industries, Sejourne said. Finally, the Commission will present its sixth simplification package, known as an omnibus, for the chemicals industry. The omnibus, due to be proposed before the year end, will simplify rules on labelling of dangerous chemicals as well as revise rules around cosmetics and fertilizers adding up to savings of 363 million euros a year. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Hindustan Times
36 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Trump sends letters to 14 nations, threatens higher tariffs in case of retaliation
WASHINGTON DC: The Trump administration on Monday sent out a series of letters to 14 countries informing them that their goods exports to the United States could face fresh tariffs starting on August 1. Earlier, Trump's 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs was set to expire on July 9. FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an Invest America Roundtable in the State Dining room at the White House. (REUTERS) Although the implementation of tariffs has been delayed, the letters addressed to the leaders of each of the 14 nations outlined a separate tariff level for each country. Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand were among those who received tariff letters from the Trump administration. The letters were mostly sent to Asian nations, especially in Southeast Asia. While Japan and South Korea will face a 25% tariff from August 1, Bangladesh will be hit with a 35% tariff. In most cases, the tariff levels outlined by Trump in his letters are broadly similar to those announced by his administration earlier on April 2. 'We have had years to discuss our trading relationship with Bangladesh, and have concluded that we must move away from these longterm, and very persistent, trade deficits engendered by Bangladesh's tariff, and non tariff, policies and trade barriers. Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal. Starting on August 1, 2025, we will charge Bangladesh a tariff of only 35% on any and all Bangladeshi goods sent into the United States, separate from all sectoral tariffs,' Trump said in his letter Bangladesh's Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus. The letters were posted on Truth Social, Trump's social media website. Similar letters were sent to the 13 other nations on Monday. Some countries such as Japan and South Korea are negotiating with the Trump administration on trade arrangements. Trump also told the 14 countries that they could avoid tariffs by manufacturing goods in the United States and warned that any retaliatory tariffs would simply be added to the tariff levels outlined in the letters. Some countries expressed their concerns about the Trump Administration's latest move. 'This 30% tariff is based on a particular interpretation of the balance of trade between South Africa and the United States. This contested interpretation forms part of the issues under consideration by the negotiating teams from South Africa and the United States. Accordingly, South Africa maintains that the 30% reciprocal tariff is not an accurate representation of available trade data,' said South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa in a statement after receiving a letter from Trump. Washington expects that the tariff letters will spur a number of the 14 countries to expedite trade talks with America. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent told the media that he expected a number of trade deals to be signed soon.
