Apple warns of hit to iPhone shipments from China
STORY: Apple warned on Sunday (November 6) that shipments of its newest high-end iPhones would be delayed.
That's after production at its main plant in central China was disrupted due to COVID-19.
China has been hit by a resurgence of the virus with nearly five and a half thousand new cases reported on Monday (November 7).
The Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou employs 200,000 people and is the world's largest iPhone plant.
It has recently been rocked by discontent over stringent measures to curb the spread of the virus.
Many workers have fled the site, prompting Foxconn to offer generous bonuses to retain staff.
In a statement Apple said:
"The facility is currently operating at significantly reduced capacity....
"We now expect lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we previously anticipated."
Other global firms to be impacted by the covid curbs include Estee Lauder and Canada Goose.
Both have shut their stores in China and cut full-year forecasts.
Over the weekend, Beijing doused speculation that it was considering easing its strict zero-Covid strategy.
Those rumours had led to a surge in the price of Chinese stocks in Hong Kong last week.
Meanwhile, in another sign that economic activity is slowing in the world's second largest economy, trade figures released on Monday showed that China's exports and imports unexpectedly contracted in October.
It was the first the simultaneous slump since May 2020.
