Apple supplier Foxconn’s manufacturing plant in Chennai, India, was forced to shut down in December 2021 after news of terrible working conditions broke. It was later reported that iPhone 13 production would commence in April. Now, Foxconn is said to be nearly doubling its staff at the plant to meet the increasing demand for iPhones in India.

According to The Economic Times, the Cupertino-based company has received the government’s permission to denotify 40 acres inside the Foxconn facility near Chennai. One source close to the publication said, “The expansion has been on the cards. A portion of their premises has been denotified to ramp up production, for which they need to increase their workforce.” The report notes that companies operating in special economic zones (SEZs) can apply for denotification of some areas of their plant as domestic tariff areas (DTA). This will enable them to produce goods for the domestic market.

Foxconn’s plans to scale up iPhone production in India come at a time when various Taiwanese companies are looking at other Southeast Asian countries except China to expand their manufacturing facilities. A foreign policy expert told the outlet, “India is part of Taiwan’s new southbound policy. The current lockdown in China is definitely hurting Taiwanese companies, but the tension between China and Taiwan is the larger issue.”

Additionally, Foxconn has also expedited the process of reopening hostels that were shut down due to last year’s food-poisoning incident. Nearly 10,000 of the 15,000 workers have reportedly made it back to the hostels. An official informed the publication that the Taiwanese manufacturer plans to have its entire workforce back at the company-provided accommodations by the first week of May.