Terry Gou, the former billionaire Foxconn boss, invested in India because he was obsessed with Apple, but the results did not turn out as expected. As Apple decided to move its production line out of China, Gou followed suit and invested heavily.
Investment in India became an expensive lesson, and Foxconn's local operations ran into cultural and skill barriers, ultimately leading to heavy losses.
Just when the dust of this investment was still unsettled, Terry Gou was pulled to Mexico by an American AI company and invested another $27 million. This series of decisions made him stand on the cusp again.
Terry Gou, this name is almost a household name in the technology manufacturing industry. As the founder of Foxconn, his name is inextricably linked to Apple.
Foxconn plays an important role in the global technology supply chain, especially in assembling devices such as iPhones for Apple. Over the decades, Gou and his company have amassed a huge fortune through their deep cooperation with Apple.
As time went on, problems began to surface. First, there is the issue of human resources. Despite India's low labor costs, the skill level and productivity of workers are far from what Gou expected.
Cultural differences are also an issue that cannot be ignored. India's work culture is very different from China's, and Foxconn's refined and efficient management model in China is difficult to replicate in India.
As the problem continues to ferment, investment begins to sour. Guo Taiming thought that he could replicate the success in China in India, but he didn't expect to get into trouble.
With the deepening of investment, more problems such as labor disputes and equipment failures began to appear, which brought the entire investment project to a standstill. This seemingly beautiful investment turned into a heavy burden, which brought huge economic losses to Foxconn.
Just when the turmoil of Indian investment has not subsided, Gou received another proposal from the United States. A U.S. AI company wanted Foxconn to build a factory in Mexico to support its North American expansion.
This time, the investment amount is as high as 27 million US dollars. Despite his reluctance to reel, Gou decided to try again, hoping to take the opportunity to turn things around and regain his footing in the global manufacturing industry.
From the very beginning, he attached great importance to the training of local talent and the adaptability of technology, hoping to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past in India. In addition, he pays special attention to cultural integration, striving to integrate the corporate culture with the local culture to reduce friction caused by cultural differences.
He maintains close ties with local government and business leaders and hopes to receive more support and resources. At the same time, Foxconn's local public relations activities have also increased significantly, enhancing the company's public image through various social responsibility activities.
Although Gou has significantly more efforts in Mexico than in India, global economic volatility and political instability during this period have still brought challenges to the operation of the new plant.
Rising logistics costs, unstable raw material supply, and competition in the local labor market have all affected Foxconn's cost control and production efficiency.