Apple’s business is under threat from a widespread coronavirus outbreak in China, with supply chain experts warning of a growing risk of months-long disruption to the production of iPhones.The US tech giant has had to contend with more than a month of chaos at its main assembler Foxconn’s megafactory in Zhengzhou, China, known as “iPhone City”, following a Covid-19 outbreak that started in October.
Foxconn has moved some of its production to other factories across China, while Apple has worked with components suppliers to alleviate unusually long wait times — about 23 days for customers buying high-end iPhones in the US, according to research by Swiss bank UBS.
As the Chinese government reverses its zero-Covid policy, a longer-lasting risk now looms: the potential of worker shortages at component plants or assembly factories across the country.