American consumer tech giant Apple is pushing hard to shift its manufacturing away from China. The iPhone maker wants India to account for over 25 per cent of its manufacturing in the next few years. Amid this, reports have come that the India unit of Apple supplier Jabil Inc has started making components for AirPods in the country, and is shipping enclosures for AirPods to China and Vietnam.
The Bloomberg news report, citing people familiar with the matter comes at a time when the tech giant’s manufacturing units are facing difficulties due to the rising trade and geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington.
Recently, India’s electronics and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw tweeted that iPhone exports from India had hit $1 billion in December. He referred to a report by The Economic Times that claims that Apple overtook South Korean consumer tech giant Samsung to become the leading mobile phone exporter in November.
In 2022, analysts at J.P. Morgan estimated that almost one-fourth of all Apple products would be made outside China by 2025. The iPhone maker currently manufactures around 5% of all its product outside China.
The numbers underscore Apple’s shift from manufacturing in China amid the chaotic situation at its facility in Zhengzhou city due to the country’s zero-Covid policy. Production at the world’s largest iPhone plant was affected due to the tumult at what is also known as the iPhone city where workers protested against the delay in bonuses, food shortages, and poor living conditions caused by the stringent Covid restrictions in the country.
