Apple hirings in Vietnam fuel business speculation

The job description says Apple is looking for an operations manager to "help the company foster growth in this market, leading "a team of engineers in support of new product development as well as sustaining operations in ensuring the contract manufacturer readiness for very high volume production."

The multinational company has been posting many job openings over the past few months, from senior role like regional operations and new product manager in Hanoi to camera ops test engineering in Saigon.

The recruitment move adds credence to reports that Apple could increase outsourcing manufacturing to Vietnam.

Foxconn, the world's biggest electronics contract manufacturer and a key supplier of Apple, has a facility in Bac Ninh Province, northern Vietnam to produce for Apple.

The CNBC, a world leader in business news coverage, wrote in early March that Apple and other technology firms like Microsoft and Google "have looked to move some hardware production from China to places including Vietnam and Thailand."

The article also said that Apple "was reportedly looking to start a trial for the production of its AirPods in Vietnam."

The Nikkei Asian Review in mid-June last year reported that the U.S.-based multinational company asked its suppliers looked for ways to shift "15 percent to 30 percent of production from China to other parts of Southeast Asia" amid the trade war between two of the world's largest economies.