A $300 million memorandum of understanding between Apple supplier Foxconn and Vietnamese developer Kinh Bac City has been signed on Saturday to expand Foxconn's facility in the north of Vietnam for diversification and production. According to the Tuoi Tre newspaper, the factory will create 30,000 local jobs on a 50.5-hectare plot in Bac Giang province. The companies did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, and Kinh Bac City did not respond to requests for comment.
According to Tuoi Tre, Foxconn has relocated part of its AirPod and iPad manufacturing to Bac Giang's Quang Chau Industrial Park. The company gave no details about the new factory's capacity or what products will be produced there. According to Nikkei Asia, according to people familiar with the matter, Apple's suppliers are discussing producing Apple Watch and MacBooks in Vietnam for the first time.
It was reported that Chinese suppliers Luxshare Precision Industry and iPhone assembler Foxconn were testing production facilities in Northern Vietnam for Apple Watches and MacBooks. In addition to making iPhones in India, Apple is also planning to manufacture iPad tablets there this year. Some areas of iPhone production are shifting from China to other markets, including India, where production of the iPhone 13 will commence this year.
A larger iPad and iPad Pro with the M2 chip could be released in October by Apple. Contract manufacturers supplying American brands are increasingly looking to diversify production away from China to compete in the second-largest smartphone market. These countries include Mexico and Vietnam.