Apple to require contract manufacturers to fund automation

Apple is pressing its contract manufacturers to adopt robotics and other automation as a condition for winning production orders, according to supply chain reports, in a move sources say will intensify in 2025 and touch major product lines including the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. The shift, reported by supply-chain publications and people familiar with the matter, would require suppliers to fund their own automation upgrades rather than rely on Apple to pay for tooling and machinery as it has in the past.

Company officials have not publicly confirmed a formal mandate. But according to those familiar with the talks, the policy change reflects multiple priorities: reducing reliance on large assembly workforces, stabilizing product quality as manufacturing spreads beyond China, and lowering long-term production costs amid geopolitical trade friction and the COVID era disruptions that exposed factory vulnerabilities.

Under the reported plan, suppliers seeking new contracts would need to demonstrate automated processes on assembly lines and bear the upfront capital expense. That requirement marks a departure from Apple’s earlier approach of subsidizing or directly investing...