Apple could again be forced to delay the autumn launch of its new range of iPhones, just as it did in 2020 with the iPhone 12, and again for the same reason, the pandemic.
In recent days, in fact, the Cupertino company would have asked Foxconn, its main assembler who is entrusted with about 80% of the production (the rest is in the hands of Pegatron), to start anticipating the usual new seasonal hires. workforce precisely to try to avoid that any lockdowns could create impediments.
About 24 hours after a first statement confirming the upcoming recruitment of new employees, according to the South China Morning Post, Foxconn suddenly stopped hiring staff for the Zhengzhou plant after local authorities decided to impose blocks and restrictions for 7 days on the approximately 11 million residents.
What is happening, of course, could create complications for Foxconn’s iPhone 14 production program which has so far managed smartphone and component manufacturing in Zhengzhou using a “closed-loop” strategy by confining employees to its huge campus. where there are also dormitories and recreational facilities.
However, despite the situation, certainly different in management than in previous years, Apple should still be able to avoid the accumulation of a delay similar to that of 2020, which was well over a month compared to expected.
Fortunately, if the situation is not optimal on the Foxconn side, things are improving instead for Quanta, the main assembler of the MacBook Pro, which just this week would have resumed production in its Chinese factory after a period of lockdown.