Apple has asked Foxconn to move some of its iPad and MacBook assembly from China to Vietnam in an effort to minimize the impact of ongoing trade tensions between the U.S. and China, according to sources cited by Reuters.
Foxconn is building assembly lines for Apple's iPad tablet and MacBook laptop at its plant in Vietnam's northeastern Bac Giang province, to come online in the first half of 2021, the person said, declining to be identified as the plan was private.
The lines will also take some production from China, the person said, without elaborating how much production would shift.
"The move was requested by Apple," the person said. "It wants to diversify production following the trade war."
Apple has been seeking to add geographic diversity to its supply chain for some time now, and Apple suppliers already assemble the company's AirPods and AirPods Pro in Vietnam.
Apple is also reportedly seeking to expand iPhone production in Vietnam, although a report in August suggested the company was holding off until workers' conditions improve at supplier Luxshare-ICT's facilities.
Major Apple manufacturing contractors Foxconn, Pegatron, and Compal Electronics are all said to be expanding production in Vietnam as companies seek to reduce reliance on China and diversify supply chains to prevent concentration risks.
Vietnam is emerging as a major manufacturing and assembly hub for large technology companies, and Samsung manufactures as many as half of its smartphones there already.
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