Over 300 Chinese Workers Exit Foxconn’s India Plants: Is Beijing’s Tech Crackdown to Blame?

Amid the construction of new factories and a major push to ramp up Apple iPhone production in India, Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group is reportedly asking its Chinese engineers and technicians to return home. These workers, once considered crucial to Apple’s manufacturing expansion beyond China, have been returning to Beijing over the past two months.

According to Bloomberg, more than 300 Chinese workers have departed from Foxconn’s Indian plants in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, and Devanahalli (Bengaluru), Karnataka, where the company assembles Apple’s flagship iPhone 16/16e and other models. Foxconn is also building a display-module assembly unit and the country’s first iPhone enclosure factory in Chennai’s ESR Industrial Park.

While the Chinese technicians are leaving, most of the Taiwanese staff remain in India. The report did not specify a clear reason for the departures, but pointed to the Xi Jinping government’s efforts to curb technology transfers as a possible cause.

Earlier, the news agency had reported that Chinese authorities had verbally encouraged regulatory agencies and local bodies to restrict technology transfers and equipment exports to overseas markets. These measures aim to strengthen domestic production, reduce job losses, and prevent capital flight if the US, under a potential Trump administration, imposes fresh trade barriers.

Why Chinese Workers Matter

In 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the common belief that China is attractive for cheap labour is a misconception.

“China stopped being the low labour cost country many years ago. The reason is because of the skill—the quantity of skill in one location, and the type of skill it is. The tooling skill is very deep here. In the US, you could have a meeting of tooling engineers, and I'm not sure we could fill the room. In China, you could fill multiple football fields,” he said in a now-viral interview.

This has become more evident as Apple’s suppliers attempt to move production out of China amid tightening US trade restrictions.

In India, manufacturers have reported production setbacks as the Indian government limited visas for Chinese workers, even while promoting its production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to boost domestic manufacturing. A 2024 Bloomberg report noted that the India-China standoff caused an estimated $15 billion production loss in the electronics sector between 2020 and 2023, and resulted in the loss of around 100,000 job opportunities, citing data from the India Cellular & Electronics Association.

In 2024, India issued just 2,000 visas to Chinese nationals—a sharp decline from nearly 200,000 issued in 2019 before the pandemic.

Later August 2024, Minister of External Affairs told Parliament, "In order to support the Make in India initiative, the Government authorises the issue of business visas to foreign nationals, including to Chinese nationals (specialists/engineers/technical people), being engaged by Indian companies under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme or any other similar schemes of the Government. PLI associated industries in both Public and Private Sector are eligible for this facility."

Foxconn’s Growing Presence in India

As of FY25, Foxconn employs approximately 80,000 people in India, according to a PTI report. The company’s headcount has grown by more than 65% year-on-year, driven by a surge in Apple product manufacturing. Foxconn’s India revenue has more than doubled to over $20 billion in FY25.

Foxconn is setting up its second-largest facility outside China in Devanahalli near Bengaluru, with a $2.8 billion (₹25,000 crore) investment expected to create over 40,000 jobs. The company is also in talks with the Uttar Pradesh government to establish another 300-acre electronics manufacturing unit. Additionally, it has started producing AirPods for export from its Hyderabad plant, backed by a $400 million (₹3,325 crore) investment.