Foxconn to dodge China lockdown, move iPhone production to India

A Foxconn facility

The latest coronavirus outbreak had already been predicted to cause Foxconn's iPhone output to drop by 30%. Then Chinese authorities imposed a week-long lockdown.

Now analyst Kuo says that his latest survey of supply chain sources shows Foxconn is planning to counter the impact by moving production away from China.

My latest survey indicates that Foxconn will accelerate the expansion of iPhone production capacity in India after Zhengzhou iPhone plant's COVID-19 lockdown. https://t.co/xQm39OBGpH

— (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) November 4, 2022

"As a result," continues Kuo, "iPhones made by Foxconn in India will grow by at least 150% YoY in 2023."

Kuo claims that "the medium/long-term goal is to ship 40-45% of iPhones from India (vs. the current 2-4%)," which means a rapid increase in Foxconn production in India over "the next few years."

At the same time as facing lockdowns, Foxconn has also seen workers fleeing its Zhengzhou factory over poor conditions. The company has delayed its seasonal reduction in the workforce, and also quadrupled bonuses to try keeping staff.