China iPhone Plant Remains in High-Risk Area as Lockdown Lifted
The world's biggest iPhone factory will continue to be subject to Covid restrictions, after authorities in China lifted a lockdown in the district where the plant is located but said some areas were still regarded as high risk.
The city of Zhengzhou ended a district-level lockdown order for the area around the airport, the government said in a statement Wednesday. Still, several areas within that district will remain classed as “high risk,” which under the city's Covid rules means they will continue to be subject to lockdown-like curbs. That includes restrictions on people leaving their homes.
The list of high-risk areas encompasses the Foxconn Technology Group plant -- known as ‘iPhone City.' That means the flow of goods and people into and out of Apple's main production base remains curtailed, potentially deepening a hit to iPhone shipments over the US holidays. The city's ongoing restrictions have already prompted Apple to warn it would ship fewer premium devices than anticipated.
Read more: iPhone Supply Chain Gets Jolt From Xi's Covid Zero Enforcers
It's unclear if or when those restrictions will lift. For now, the factory will continue to operate under a so-called closed loop, or self-contained bubble, to keep production going, said a spokesperson for Foxconn, Apple's key contract manufacturer in China.
The Wednesday statement, and its confusing impact on one of the China's most closely-watched supply chains, reflects a trend of local officials attempting to keep Covid restrictions under the radar as public frustration with the punishing Covid Zero playbook grows.
While Zhengzhou's government aims to “better balance virus prevention and economic development,” according to the Wednesday statement, infections
Read more on tech.hindustantimes.com
