Apple’s largest iPhone assembler, Foxconn, has received approval from the Chinese government to restart production at a key plant in China after being forced to shut it following the coronavirus outbreak. Currently, only 10% of the factory’s workforce has managed to return so far, a source told Reuters.
Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, got the green light to restart production in the eastern central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, said the person with direct knowledge of the matter. The company, however, has not yet been allowed to restart production in Shenzhen, a southern manufacturing hub, the source said.
The two factories together make up the bulk of Foxconn’s assembly lines for Apple’s (AAPL.O) iPhones, and the delays are likely to impact global shipments.
Market research firm Trendforce on Monday cut its March-quarter forecast for iPhone production by about 10% to 41 million handsets.
MacDailyNews Take: Obviously, the potential exists for Apple’s stock to get hammered while these Foxconn and other plant restarts drag on in China. Hopefully, for the lives impacted and all of the less important ancillaries like commerce and the economy, we can get a handle on this outbreak sooner than later. 10% of the workforce is better than none!