Will Apple be able to launch the iPhone 14 on time? That's the question being asked today after the world's largest iPhone factory was forced to suspend hiring.
As the South China Morning Post reports, new COVID-19 cases in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou have led the local government to impose a lockdown lasting until at least next Tuesday. Unfortunately for Foxconn (and Apple), Zhengzhou is home to a huge manufacturing complex.
The timing is especially unfortunate as earlier this week Foxconn announced it was going to boost the recruitment of assembly line personnel by offering larger cash bonuses of $1,286 (up from $983). Instead, Foxconn has now suspended recruitment until further notice. Not only can the company not fill the new roles it needs for production, it's unclear how much of existing production can continue, but Foxconn does have its own campus in Zhengzhou.
The need to speed up recruitment and attract more workers is thought to be in response to Apple preparing for iPhone 14 production. Apple uses a number of contract suppliers, but relies on each one to hit production targets in the months leading up to an iPhone launch.
With Foxconn producing up to 80% of the world's iPhones in Zhengzhou, combined with manufacturing pauses it has little control over, will Apple have to delay the iPhone 14 launch this year? There are still several months before the expected September release, but how many more lockdowns will China impose before then?