Technology giant Apple, has notified its suppliers which are Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron to submit plans on moving between 15% and 30% of its production outside of China.
This is as a result of a growing concern regarding the the ongoing trade war between China and the United States.
The California based tech company’s decision is seen as a move to avoid becoming a victim of the trade war, like Huawei.
The majority of Apple’s products are currently manufactured in China.
The company’s low-cost iPhones, are manufactured in India.
Plans to begin making the higher-end iPhones in India, are underway as well.
An estimated 5 million jobs rely on Apple’s manufacturing in China, with 10,000 people directly employed by Apple.
Apple is looking to move its production from China to countries in South East Asia like India and Vietnam.
There is also the possibility of exploring other options like Indonesia, Malaysia and Mexico.
Apple’s largest manufacturer, Foxconn claims that it has the capacity to move production from China when required to do so.
On the other hand, Apple’s other suppliers claim that moving production from China will be an uphill task which will require at least 18 months.
The suppliers say the process of moving will be “painful and difficult”, considering the fact that China has a large pool of skilled labour built around an ecosystem of component supplies and a supporting infrastructure that is much less prone to issues like power shortages.
Apple’s plan to move production out of China comes at a time when higher tariffs are about to hit devices such as phones, laptops and tablet that are manufactured in China.
