Customers may now have to wait longer for their orders in advance of the holiday season, according to Apple, which also warned that Covid limitations have “temporarily hampered” output at the world’s largest iPhone facility in central China.
Following an increase in infections, Foxconn, Apple’s main subcontractor, shut down its sizable production in Zhengzhou last month in accordance with China’s zero-Covid policy.
The Taiwanese company warned in a separate statement that the coronavirus lockdowns will have an adverse effect on its earnings in the year’s fourth quarter.
Following reports of bad working conditions at the complex, which employs hundreds of thousands of people, worried employees this week fled the scene on foot.
Apple, based in California, said in a statement late Sunday that “Covid-19 restrictions have temporarily disrupted the primary iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max production facility located in Zhengzhou, China.”
The plant is currently working at a capacity that is much below normal.
It stated that “we now predict lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we originally anticipated” despite high demand for Apple products ahead of the holiday season.
Customers may have to wait longer to get their new stuff.
Foxconn employs more than a million people across the nation in approximately 30 factories and research facilities, making it the largest private employer in China.
The Taiwanese company’s crown jewel, though, is Zhengzhou, which produces iPhones in numbers unmatched anyplace else.
Ivan Lam, an analyst with the specialised company Counterpoint, told AFP that “in a typical situation, practically all the iPhone manufacture is happening in Zhengzhou.”
According to the corporation, it had been “cautiously optimistic” about its fourth-quarter earnings.
However, because of the pandemic that is hurting parts of our Zhengzhou operations, Foxconn announced that it will “revise down” its fourth-quarter forecast.
The government and Foxconn are currently cooperating in a coordinated attempt to stop the pandemic and soon resume full production, according to the business.
There was no statistical forecast provided on the predicted severity of the earnings hit.
