Nov. 2 (UPI) — The world’s largest iPhone plant went under lockdown starting Wednesday with the rest of Zhengzhou City in China over the latest COVID-19 scare, officials there said.
The seven-day lockdown could challenge Apple production at the Foxconn plant in Zhengzhou. The lockdown is the Chinese government continuing zero-tolerance policy that has caused the economy there to yo-yo since the pandemic started.
The massive Foxconn plant employs about 200,000 workers and makes most of Apple’s new phones that come on the market.
Apple just introduced the iPhone 14 in September before the busy Christmas season and Lunar New Year in China. The company also announced at about the same time that India would be the hub for the new phone.
The iPhone is being manufactured at the Foxconn plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai, India. It marks the first time India will be used as a production hub for a new iPhone. The country had manufactured older iPhones since 2017.
Foxconn, which produces most of Apple’s iPhones, has usually started its production in China because of supply chain issues regarding critical components. Analysts say the shift could signal that those supply chain challenges for India may no longer be as big of a factor anymore.
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