Foxconn Hyderabad ramps up AirPods production, eyes 200,000 units monthly

Foxconn's Hyderabad plant will double AirPods output to 200,000 units a month, hire up to 5,000 staff, and invest ₹4,800 crore to meet growing global demand

Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT), the Hyderabad unit of Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn, is ramping up production and hiring at its Telangana facility to meet growing global demand for Apple AirPods, according to a report by The Economic Times. The move is part of Foxconn’s wider plan to diversify manufacturing beyond China and strengthen its presence in India.

 

The Kongara Kalan plant, about 15 km from Hyderabad airport, began making AirPods commercially in April. Over the next six to eight months, FIT plans to upgrade five existing production lines and increase output to 200,000 AirPods a month, up from the current estimate of over 100,000 units. Machinery for the expansion is being moved from Foxconn’s Vietnam facilities, with one or two brand-new production lines also expected, the news report said.

 

The news report quoted a source as saying that the factory has 2,000 employees and this number is likely to go up to 5,000 in the next eight months.

 

The total investment in the Hyderabad plant will reach ₹4,800 crore, with more than ₹3,000 crore already deployed. This includes machinery transfers from Vietnam, as well as new equipment to support the production of the latest AirPods models, including the AirPods 4 launched last September and the AirPods Pro 3 introduced this year, the news report said.   

 

Tackling supply challenges

 

Earlier this year, production at the Telangana plant faced hurdles due to a shortage of dysprosium, a rare earth metal affected by China’s export restrictions. The bottleneck eased in August when Beijing relaxed curbs on critical minerals, allowing FIT to resume a steady pace of manufacturing.

 

FIT’s Hyderabad facility is part of a larger $550-million project announced in May 2023 under Chang Yi Interconnect Technology (India) Pvt. Ltd. The initiative aims to create 24,000 jobs and focuses on manufacturing Apple accessories such as AirPods, connectors, and cables for global and domestic markets. Initial investments of $150 million were approved, with another $400 million sanctioned to expand operations, the news report said.   

 

Strengthening supply chain

 

Foxconn Interconnect Technology, which has operated in Vietnam for over 16 years, continues to invest in facilities that support Apple’s international supply chain. The Hyderabad expansion reflects Foxconn’s strategy to diversify production, reduce reliance on China, and meet rising demand in the US, Europe, and India.

 

Apple’s growing footprint in India is evident from record iPhone exports of $10 billion in the first half of FY26, a 75 per cent jump from $5.71 billion in the same period last year, highlighting the country’s increasing role in the company’s global manufacturing network.