Production Disruption of 6 Million Apple iPhone Pro Units Due to Labor Shortage at Chinese Factory

[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Bloomberg News reported on the 28th (local time), citing sources, that Apple is expected to face production disruptions of nearly 6 million iPhone Pro units due to turmoil at its factories in China.

The source stated that as the chaos at Foxconn's Zhengzhou plant, Apple's largest partner, has intensified, the estimated production decline has increased over the past two weeks, and it is expected that the shortfall of 6 million units will only be filled next year.

The source explained that Apple's expected production disruption figures are fluid and depend on how quickly the Foxconn factory returns to normal operations.

Foxconn's Zhengzhou plant is the largest production base for iPhones, producing most of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max units.

However, this plant has recently faced a severe labor shortage due to local workers' resistance to the COVID-19 lockdown policies.

When COVID-19 broke out at the plant last month, workers, feeling anxious, collectively fled and returned to their hometowns. Most of the newly recruited workers recently also left the factory after protesting on the 22nd against wage issues and strict quarantine policies.

Due to the situation at the Zhengzhou plant in China, Apple's stock price fell on the New York Stock Exchange that day. As of 3:23 PM local time, Apple's stock price was down 2.84% compared to the previous trading day.