Apple is struggling to get iPhone 14 Pro devices shipped around the world at the moment due to the latest covid lockdown in China. Apple’s biggest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou is currently operating at a significantly reduced capacity due to the latest lockdown.
The company says that customers might experience longer wait times before they receive stock as Apple struggles to meet the strong demand for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max devices. Apple admittedly says that even the current shipments are expected to be lower than anticipated.
“We continue to see strong demand for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models. However, we now expect lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we previously anticipated and customers will experience longer wait times to receive their new products.”
But the stock issues are a small part of an even bigger problem at Foxconn, Zhengzhou. The New York Times reports that the 200,000 workers at the factory have been locked inside the building during the new covid outbreak with limited food and supplies. Some workers have fled the factory in fear.
Apple’s Zhengzhou factory has been a controversial subject for many years now. The building has been the central point for unfair working conditions, underpaid staff, abusive allegations and more. It is so bad that the factory had to install nets outside the windows of the staff living quarters to stop workers from committing suicide.
Apple has already started shifting production away from Zhengzhou. The company opened its own factory in India in September where it began making the base iPhone 14 model. However, this doesn’t solve the issue of the current stock shortages surrounding the iPhone 14 Pro model.
Source: NYT