Apple assembler Foxconn adjusts production to avoid holiday supply declines

Apple assembler Foxconn said on Thursday it is adjusting production to prevent recent COVID-19 curbs at a massive iPhone City” factory complex in China from impacting assembly orders.
The logo of electronics contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, is displayed at its headquarters in Taipei. Photo: Agence France-Presse
Apple has fallen victim to China’s quixotic “Zero COVID” lockdowns as Foxconn accounts for 70% of iPhone shipments globally, with Apple this week lowering its forecast for shipments of the iPhone 14 pro and flagship iPhone 14 Pro Max models.
Ben Blanchard and Sarah Wu for Reuters:

Foxconn has grabbed headlines in recent weeks, with tight virus restrictions at its Zhengzhou plant, the world’s largest iPhone factory, disrupting production and fuelling concerns over the impact of China’s virus policy on global supply chains. The plant in China’s industrial hub employs about 200,000 people.
Speaking on an earnings call, Chairman Liu Young-way said the Christmas and Lunar New Year holidays are “very important.”
“We will definitely work all out to adjust our production capacity and output, so there is no impact on demand for these two holidays,” Liu said. He did not give details.
On Wednesday, Foxconn said it would continue production in Zhengzhou under a “closed loop” system, where staff live and work on-site in a bubble isolated from the wider world.
When asked if customers are pushing for production to be distributed to other Chinese cities or outside of China, Liu said that geopolitics is more likely to play a role in restructuring Foxconn’s production footprint than the pandemic.
“Of course there may be other factors that require the reconfiguration of production capacity, such as geopolitics,” Liu said.

MacDailyNews Take: Hopefully, Liu Young-way can work miracles.
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