Foxconn starts work on building $500 million AirPods plant in India

Foxconn is making an investment of $500 million into new plants in India, a state IT minister tweeted, which will most likely be used in the production of AirPods for Apple.

In March, Foxconn was reported to have secured an order for AirPods from Apple, and planned to make them in India in a new $200 million factory. In a tweet from an official in India, the ground has been broken on a new plant.

The tweet by K.T. Rama Rao, the IT minister for the Indian state of Telangana, announces the groundbreaking of the first of Foxconn's plants, located in Kongar Kalaan.

Rao continues by stating it will be a $500 million investment, up from the original $200 million leaked by sources two months prior, and will create approximately 25,000 jobs in its first phase.

While Foxconn has yet to officially comment on the minister's announcement, it was previously thought that the assembly partner was hesitant about taking an AirPods order. Company officials were apparently concerned about the low profit margin on AirPods compared to other items Foxconn assembles for Apple.

Sources in the earlier report indicated that the decision to accept the order was intended to "reinforce engagement" with Apple.

The breaking of new ground is the latest move by Foxconn in India. On May 9, it was reported that Foxconn had bought a 13 million-square-foot parcel of land in Devanahalli, near the tech hub of Bengaluru for approximately $37 million.

Previously, it was reportedly planning to invest $700 million on a new plant in Bengaluru to improve iPhone part production. A facility that could create around 100,000 jobs.