Foxconn Looks To Double Workforce, Investments In India By 2024 As It Moves Away From China

Apple supplier Foxconn is looking to bolster manufacturing in India amid a supply chain shift away from China. V Lee, Foxconn's representative in India, said the Taiwan-based tech giant is looking to double its workforce and investments in India in the next 12 months.

Lee revealed the company's plans in a LinkedIn post while wishing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday Sunday.

"Under your leadership, Foxconn has grown smoothly and rapidly in India. We will work even harder to present you with a greater birthday gift next year, aiming for another doubling of employment, FDI (foreign direct investment), FDI, and business size in India," the Foxconn representative wrote.

Foxconn, the world's largest contract manufacturer of electronics, has been rapidly expanding its footprint in India as it seeks to gradually move away from China. During an earnings briefing last month, Foxconn chairman Liu Young-Way said he sees much potential in India and that "several billion dollars in investment is only a beginning."

Foxconn already employs around 40,000 people in India and has an iPhone factory in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. It has also signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the neighboring state of Karnataka, "paving the way for two groundbreaking projects" that will see the tech giant investing more than $600 million, a legislator from the state tweeted in August.

Foxconn has continued to expand its presence in India over the past few months. The Apple supplier will reportedly invest $500 million to establish manufacturing plants in the southern state of Telangana, which is expected to generate more than 25,000 jobs. Also, India's Gujarat state is holding talks with Foxconn to build a semiconductor plant.

In July, Foxconn pulled out of a $19.5 billion semiconductor joint venture with Indian metals-to-oil giant Vedanta.

"There was recognition on both sides that the project was not moving fast enough, there were challenging gaps we were not able to smoothly overcome, as well as external issues unrelated to the project," the company said at the time.

Foxconn's Tamil Nadu factory has reportedly started production of Apple's latest iPhone 15 as India moves to catch up with China in producing the U.S. tech behemoth's next-generation iPhones.

Foxconn assembles around 70% of Apple's iPhones. It started diversifying production away from China after Beijing's strict COVID-19 restrictions disrupted operations at its biggest iPhone plant in Zhengzhou.

Foxconn's pivot to India also comes amid intensifying geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China. Earlier this month, Beijing reportedly banned the use of Apple's iPhones and mobile devices from other foreign brands at central government agencies.