File photo: India does not expect any major disruption to Foxconn’s operations in the country after the iPhone assembler ordered some workers from China to return home in the past few months. | Photo credit: Reuters
India does not expect significant Foxconn operations in the country, after iPhone assembly prompted some workers from China to return home in the past few months, a top Indian government official said this week.
“Although some Chinese workers had to leave because they were asked to return, the operations actually did not suffer significantly,” S. Krishnan, secretary of India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, told reporters in Taipei, referring to Foxconn’s Indian operations.
“Foxconn has been in their factory near Chennai for the last five years and a new plant is coming up near Bengaluru. So they were able to manage with some of the employees there, some people from Taiwan and some people from the United States,” Krishnan said late Thursday during a visit to a trade show in Taiwan.
Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, asked hundreds of its engineers and technicians from mainland China to return home from its operations in India, Bloomberg News reported in July.
Foxconn and its customer Apple have been trying to increase iPhone production in India to mitigate the impact of US President Donald Trump’s threatened triple-digit tariffs on Chinese goods, which have been on hold as Beijing and Washington negotiate a trade deal.
Most iPhones Foxconn makes for Apple are assembled in China.
Krishna said it was unclear why the workers from China were asked to return home.
Foxconn declined to comment. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tensions between India and China escalated after a 2020 military clash along their disputed Himalayan border. In response, India imposed restrictions on Chinese investment, banned hundreds of popular Chinese apps, and reduced air passenger routes between the two countries.
Relations between China and India have gradually improved in recent months, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month during his first visit to China in seven years.
“We understand that Foxconn is committed to seeing all investments in India … their expansion in India has been very significant,” Krishna said.
Published – September 13, 2025 11:05 AM IST
