(San Francisco) Apple on Sunday said it expects “lower than expected” shipments of the iPhone 14 Pro, due to anti-COVID-19 restrictions in China affecting production of this smartphone model, as the crucial holiday season approaches.
Posted at 8:58 p.m.
The Californian group explains that its factory located in Zhengzhou (central China) is idling because of the restrictions again in place due to a rebound in positive cases of COVID-19.
“Customers will have to wait longer to receive their new products,” concludes Apple. “As we have done since the start of the pandemic, we are prioritizing the health and safety of workers in our supply chain.”
The Taiwanese group Foxconn, Apple’s main subcontractor, has been facing an increase in COVID-19 cases since October at its huge site in Zhengzhou, the largest iPhone factory in the world.
Foxconn also announced almost simultaneously with Apple’s announcement that it “revised (had) downwards” its forecast for the fourth quarter because of the anti-COVID-19 measures in China.
First confined, hundreds of employees exasperated by their living conditions fled the factory in disaster, according to viral images a week ago and testimonies collected by AFP.
“Normally, almost all iPhones are produced in Zhengzhou,” Ivan Lam, an analyst for specialist firm Counterpoint, told AFP.
The apple brand depends a lot on China, where it has more than 90% of its products manufactured. The country is also one of its most important markets.
Unlike its neighbors in Silicon Valley, Apple has so far weathered the economic crisis well, even as the strong dollar weighs on its revenue.
From July to September, the American group saw sales of the iPhone, its flagship product, increase by 9.7% over one year, to 42.6 billion dollars.
For the holidays, the company and experts expected strong demand for the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro Max.
Foxconn is the largest private-sector employer in China, with more than one million people working at its approximately 30 factories and research facilities in the country.
About 600 km from Beijing, the Zhengzhou industrial site employs up to 300,000 people who live there year-round, in “iPhone City”, a kind of city within the city.