iPhone production and shipments to be affected by Covid-19 restrictions at Foxconn plant

Foxconn of Taiwan, the largest manufacturer of iPhone of Apple Incsaid on Monday that it is working to resume full production at a major plant in Zhengzhou, China, which has been affected by restrictions imposed in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, as soon as possible, and revised down its outlook for the quarter. trimester.

China ordered that the industrial park that houses a factory of iPhone belonging to Foxconn begins a seven-day lockdown on Wednesday, in a move that will intensify pressure on Apple’s supplier as it seeks to quell worker discontent at the site.

The Zhengzhou Airport Economic Zone, in the center of ChinaHe said he would impose “quiet management” measures with immediate effect, including banning all residents from leaving and only allowing approved vehicles on streets within his area.

Foxconnthe world’s largest contract electronics maker, said in a statement that the provincial government of Henan, where Zhengzhou is located, “has made it clear that, as always, it will fully support Foxconn in Henan.”

Foxconn is now working with the government in a concerted effort to end the pandemic and resume production at full capacity as quickly as possible.”

In a statement issued at the same time, Apple He said he expects shipments from iPhone 14 Pro y iPhone Pro Max Lower than previously anticipated as Covid-19 restrictions temporarily halt production in Zhengzhou.

“The facility is currently operating at a significantly reduced capacity,” the iPhone maker said in a statement. “Customers will experience longer wait times for their new products,” he added.

Apple’s new iPhone 14 went on sale in September.

Foxconn, formally Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, is Apple’s largest iPhone maker, accounting for 70% of global iPhone shipments. It makes most of the phones at the Zhengzhou plant, where it employs around 200,000 people, though it has other smaller production sites in India and southern China.

Having previously pointed to “cautious optimism” in the fourth quarter, Foxconn said it will “revise downward” its outlook given the events in Zhengzhou.

However, the firm reported that October sales soared 40.97% year-on-year, a record for the period, but down 5.56% from the previous month.

“Benefiting from the launch of new products in October, stable demand for major products and strong demand in the server market, revenues in all four major product segments grew,” he said, referring to computer products, electronics products intelligent consumption, cloud services and network products.

Computer products, smart consumer electronics products and network and cloud products showed double-digit growth last month, compared to the same period last year, the company added.

The fourth quarter is traditionally the peak season for Taiwanese tech companies as they rush to supply mobile phones, tablets and other electronics for the holiday season in Western markets.

Foxconn releases its third-quarter earnings on November 10.

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