According to a Nikkei Asia report, Apple is encouraging its suppliers to relocate part of the manufacturing of AirPods and Beats headphones to India. According to the outlet, which cited industry sources, Foxconn, an Apple iPhone manufacturing partner, is getting ready to manufacture Beats headphones in India and eventually plans to make AirPods as well.
According to the source, Apple would assist Luxshare Precision Industry, a Chinese supplier for the company, in producing AirPods in India. However, Luxshare is now concentrating more on its Vietnamese branch of AirPods manufacturing operations and may not readily jump on India plans. In addition to assembling iPad tablets, Apple has been moving some aspects of iPhone production from China to other regions, notably India, where it began producing the iPhone 13 earlier this year. The company said this week that it will produce the newest iPhone 14 in India in the coming days.
The report states that Apple’s most recent move is a part of the company’s gradual departure from China. Amid lockdowns connected to COVID-19 in the region and mounting tensions between US and China, contract manufacturers supplying to American companies are increasingly resorting to India and other nations like Mexico and Vietnam which offer similar benefits and cheap labour.
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