Foxconn Building New $210 Million Production Line for Apple Products

China Daily reports that Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn continues to expand its operations in support of Apple's strong growth in product sales, investing $210 million to build a new production line for unspecified components. The new production line is said to be set to come on line in October of this year and will be located in the Chinese city of Huai'an in the eastern province of Jiangsu.

The plant, covering an area of 40,000 square meters, plans to hire 35,800 employees.

The annual output value of the plant is expected to reach 6 to 7 billion yuan ($949 million to $1.1 billion), and the import and export value will be $55.8 million, the office said.

Foxconn, which has come under scrutiny regarding workers rights issues and has recently been working with Apple to monitor issues and improve standards, has been aggressively expanding its facilities to support Apple's production needs. In addition to new production facilities for the iPhone and iPad in Brazil, the company has also recently adopted a strategy of decentralizing its Chinese production facilities, building some of its new plants in interior regions closer to the homes of many of the young workers seeking jobs with the company.

foxconn ipad polishing
Foxconn workers polishing iPad rear shells (Source: ABC/Nightline)

It is unclear what role the forthcoming Huai'an facility will play in the production of Apple devices, and while the addition of nearly 36,000 workers marks a substantial investment in new production for Apple, it will represent only a small fraction of Foxconn's overall workforce, which currently includes well over one million employees.

Popular Stories

iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.4 With Sleep Alarm Update

Tuesday April 1, 2025 10:34 am PDT by
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software,...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...
Apple Card iPhone 16 Pro Feature

Visa and American Express Vying to Win Apple Card Deal in 'Fierce' Fight

Tuesday April 1, 2025 1:50 pm PDT by
Visa wants to pay Apple approximately $100 million to be the new payment network for the Apple Card, reports The Wall Street Journal. As of right now, the Apple Card is on the Mastercard payment network, but that is set to change because Apple is ending its partnership with Goldman Sachs. Both American Express and Visa are vying to replace Mastercard as Apple's card services provider, while...

Top Rated Comments

dennno Avatar
168 months ago
Despite all the negative press about working hours etc. This is good news for the Chinese workers who want to work there.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
organicman Avatar
168 months ago
What about USA production?

Radical idea: build a production plant in a depressed area such as Appalachia. Pay minimum wage plus bonuses based on production. Market Apple products as proudly made in the USA. Put Americans to work. Stop pushing power toward a Communist country where human rights are routinely violated. Help reverse the tide of opportunistic globalization in favor of ethical responsibility on the part of big businesses. Whoa! What a concept...
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OllyW Avatar
168 months ago
Man, that's roughly 1.1 square meter per employee. Less if they have toilets within the facility.

They will probably work shifts to get the maximum production from the factory so it's unlikely that all of the employees will be there at the same time.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Edsel Avatar
168 months ago
In China they can probably build and occupy this 430,000 sq/ft facility by the end of this year. :cool:

In the United States, the same project would become a three year struggle with permits, zoning, public hearings, environmental reviews, neighbor lawsuits, tax credit approvals.... then a building permit would be issued...with construction subject to labor agreements, wage schedules, OSHA, EPA, ABC, & XYZ inspections. Five years to occupancy in the United States. :eek:
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ugg Avatar
168 months ago
Man, that's roughly 1.1 square meter per employee. Less if they have toilets within the facility.

They probably have three shifts a day.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
whooleytoo Avatar
168 months ago
Apple better hope their demand doesnt slow down as the limit of amount of devices one person can have gets closer.

Perhaps in some markets, they're approaching some 'saturation' point. But with consumer electronics, the turnover is very quick. People who bought (say) the original iPad would still go out and buy the new iPad. So there's little risk of demand falling away.

Then, bear in mind there's a fast-growing middle-class in the larger Asian economies that could provide a massive new market.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)