Apple supplier Jabil has reportedly moved production of plastic AirPods enclosures to its manufacturing plant in Pune, western India, marking an expansion to the iPhone maker’s manufacturing efforts in the country.
Apple has gradually been asking suppliers to move production of components away from China, with recent months seeing Apple scale up iPhone production in India, and reports suggesting that Apple Watch and MacBook production could soon move to Vietnam as part of the company’s efforts to explore moving factories outside of China, with tensions between the U.S. a key driving force behind the move.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the Indian unit of Jabil is now shipping AirPods enclosures, or plastic bodies, to China and Vietnam, where the wireless earphones are assembled.
India is expected to play an integral role in Apple’s manufacturing efforts over the coming years, with India expected to produce half of the world’s iPhones by 2027.
