In recent weeks, Apple has accelerated its efforts to move some of its iPhone production outside of China and has instructed suppliers to prepare more for the product's assembly in other parts of Asia, namely India and Vietnam. According to those engaged in the conversations, Apple is also aiming to lessen its reliance on Taiwanese assemblers, particularly those headed by the Foxconn Technology Group, the Wall Street Journal reports.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Apple may decide to move its production due to the recent unrest at the Zhengzhou "iPhone City" plant in China. Foxconn's factory in Zhengzhou, China, employs up to 300,000 people to produce iPhones and other Apple products. According to market research company Counterpoint Research, it once represented about 85% of the Pro lineup of iPhones.
Late in November, demonstrations broke out at the largest iPhone manufacturing in the world, located in central China, as workers at the Foxconn facility fought to keep a COVID-19 epidemic under control while sustaining production in time for the busiest holiday season.
Online protest videos show demonstrators yelling, "Stand up for your rights!" The videos demonstrate the presence of riot police. According to The Wall Street Journal, the news organisation and the video verification service Storyful independently confirmed the location of one of the videos.
According to analysts and individuals in the Apple supply chain, the upheaval has caused Apple to no longer feel comfortable having so much of its business tied up in one place after a year of events that diminished China's status as a reliable manufacturing hub.
According to those involved in the conversation, Apple has informed its manufacturing partners that it wants them to start attempting to do more of this work outside of China. Unless nations like India and Vietnam are able to introduce new products (NPI), they will be relegated to a supporting role, according to supply-chain experts.
The Wall Street Journal quoted several of the participants in the conversations as saying that the sluggish global economy and limited recruiting at Apple had made it difficult for the tech giant to dedicate workers for NPI work with new suppliers and new regions.
Early in November, issues at the Foxconn manufacturing facility forced Apple to lower its projections for high-end iPhone 14 shipments and issue a rare investor alert due to the delays.
China is further constricting Apple's already constrained supply and demonstrating how the nation's strict zero-Covid policy is detrimental to international technology companies.
