What you need to know
- Apple is reportedly facing more production woes.
- A new report says factories in Vietnam are closing because of COVID.
- It follows recent reports of iPhone production in India falling by more than 50%.
A new report says more Apple factories are closing due to increased COVID-19 cases, this time in Vietnam.
From Global Times:
Apple Inc's supply chain is facing increasing uncertainty, as more factories of the US tech giant's suppliers have halted operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysts said that the company's already tight supply could take a hit if production disruptions were to last.
The report notes previous news that Apple was facing disruption in India and now states that factories of both Foxconn and Luxshare Precision Industry have suspended operations in the northern part of Vietnam because of a "COVID-19 surge" in the country.
The report continues:
In a statement sent to the Global Times on Thursday, Foxconn said that some of its subsidiaries have suspended operations since Tuesday in response to the local government's epidemic prevention measures.The statement said that workers' safety is the top priority and other factories in the country are still operating. Changes would be made in line with government measures, it said.
One analyst said that if factories remain out of commission for more than two weeks the development would further strain Apple's "already tight global capacity". Specifically, it could impact the supply of AirPods and Apple devices that rely on Foxconn's displays and panels.
The report says the impact on Apple's overall production "would be limited" and that some work can be outsourced to China or other parts of the country.
Last week it emerged that iPhone production in India had fallen by 50% because of a huge surge in COVID-19 cases in the country.
