The production of Apple’s iPhone 12 in Foxconn’s factory in India slowed down as hundreds of its workers are battling the COVID-19 virus, two sources told Reuters.
Foxconn in India is behind the production of iPhones for the country — which is the second-largest market of smartphones in the world.
(Photo : Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
BEIJING, CHINA – JANUARY 07: The Apple logo is seen on the window at an Apple Store on January 7, 2019 in Beijing, China. Apple Inc. lowered its revenue guidance last week, blaming China’s slowing economy and weaker than expected iPhone sales, as the company’s chief executive officer Tim Cook said in a letter to investors the sales problems were primarily in its Greater China region that accounts for almost 20 percent of its revenue and includes Hong Kong and Taiwan.
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India’s Worsening Outbreak
India is currently experiencing a second wave of COVID-19. New variants accelerated the deadly outbreak in the country, World Health Organization top officials said.
The said facility is at Tamil Nidu, which was badly hit by the Indian COVID-19 wave. Currently, the state is under a tight total lockdown. Furthermore, there is no public transport available, and all businesses are shut to contain the surge of the virus.
Foxconn is Helping Their Employees
Specifically, 100 employees of the factory were infected by the virus, Reuters reported. Other workers are barred from entering the premises, despite testing negative from COVID-19. Sources said that this situation is about to last until the end of May.
The infection and lockdown are abruptly slowing down production in Foxconn. A source told Reuters that the capacity of the factory is down to a whopping 50%.
The sources, however, could not give out numbers of the overall capacity of the said facility.
Foxconn confirmed to Reuters that a small number of their colleagues in the Indian facility contracted the COVID-19 virus. The company adds, in assurance, that it is providing the latter utmost support and medical aid.
According to Reuters, Foxconn is not the only manufacturer struggling to grapple with the effects of the pandemic in India. Particularly, Nokia and OPPO have also suspended production after workers tested positive for COVID-19 in the past.
iPhone 12 and COVID-19
In March 2021, Nikkei Asia reported that Foxconn relocated about 10 percent of the iPhone 12 production from China to India. It was the first time that the flagship phone was assembled outside of the East Asian country.
In other delays, the iPhone 12’s supposed availability in March 2020 has, instead, been moved to April. During the early month of the pandemic in 2020, Apple pushed back in the delivery of the iPhone 12 due to the coronavirus.
Moreover, as Apple is preparing for the high demand for iPhones in December, the 5G enabled smartphone faces a supply problem. The constraint in power management risked the delay of 80 million units.
It was a significant bottleneck to the Cupertino company as the 5G technology demanded a consistent supply of power.
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Written by Teejay Boris
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