Rumor: Apple To Move Some Production To Vietnam
Apple may be asking Taiwan-based Foxconn to move some of its MacBook production to Vietnam. (Photo: Michael Dziedzic/Unsplash(BY CC 2.0))

Taiwan-based Foxconn preparing to move some of the production processes of MacBook and iPad to Vietnam after Apple requested it to transfer.

Foxconn, Apple's biggest Taiwanese contract manufacturer, will move some of the production processes of the MacBook and iPad from China to Vietnam after the Cupertino tech giant requested for the transfer. Reports say that Apple made the request in an attempt to minimize the impact of the raging China-US trade war.

The Taiwanese contract manufacturer is reportedly the world's biggest provider of electronics and manufacturing services or EMS. Established in Taiwan way back in 1974, the company set up its US office in 1985. Its partnership with Apple began in 2000 when the Cupertino tech giant asked the Taiwanese company to product Apple iMacs. This was followed by Apple's order of the era-defining iPhone in 2007, cementing the reputation of what is now known as the Foxconn Technology Group. Industry observers say that the reported request of Apple for Foxconn to move production processes of the MacBook and iPad from China to Vietnam is proof of the solid relationship between the two tech companies.

On Thursday, news outfit Reuters cited a source familiar with the impending move of the Taiwanese contract manufacturer. According to Reuters, the source said that Foxconn is now in the process of constructing assembly plants in Vietnam, specifically in Bac Giang province, northeast of Hanoi. The source also said that the new Foxconn assembly plants would handle some of the manufacturing processes of the Apple iPad and MacBook, adding that the new production lines will take some of the tasks from China when the new facilities open in 2021.

Reuters also revealed that their source specified Foxconn made the decision to move some of the manufacturing processes of the MacBook and iPad from China to Vietnam after Apple requested it to do so. The news outfit also said that their source explained that the reason for the production relocation is so that the tech giant can "diversify its production following the trade war." The announcement of Foxconn about investing some US$270 million in the creation of a new subsidiary it called FuKang Technology Co Ltd added fuel to the rumors. Reuters said their source informed them that the new subsidiary will play a major role in the company's new production plants in Vietnam.

There are also reports of Apple making some major shifts elsewhere. Rumors say that the Cupertino company already talked to Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron as regards the possibility of moving some of their manufacturing segments to India. Recently, Foxconn announced it has invested some US$542 million for new plants in India, while Wistron has injected some US$176 million and Pegatron poured in another US$147 million for the same purpose.