Reuters reported on the 30th (local time) that iPhone shipments could fall by 30 percent next month due to a massive worker withdrawal from the Foxconn iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, China, the hub of global iPhone production.
Reuters quoted an internal source as saying. An insider added that the company is focusing on increasing production at its factory in Shenzhen.
Zhengzhou plant, large number of workers leave: Reuters previously reported that a large number of workers are escaping from Apple’s iPhone manufacturing hub, Zhengzhou plant in China, due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Reuters said that as the number of COVID-19 infections surged, a large number of workers at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant, which subcontracts iPhones, are escaping the factory, and the company is helpless because the worker’s desire to leave the factory is so strong.
In the meantime, Foxconn has encouraged its workers to produce iPhones by having them settle down in factories. However, there has been a series of workers leaving the factory for fear of being infected with COVID-19.
In fact, videos of workers who decided to escape Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant and walk to their hometowns are being posted one after another on the Internet, and nearby residents are also providing them with water, food, and clothes.
In particular, this is expected to affect the entire U.S. stock market.
This is because Apple is leading the recent rise in the U.S. stock market. Although U.S. IT giants are warning of their performance one after another, only Apple is leading the U.S. stock market rally by exceeding expectations.
Apple’s stock price jumped more than 7% on the New York Stock Exchange on the 28th. This is because the performance announced the previous day was in line with market expectations.
Apple announced in its earnings announcement the previous day that its earnings per share for the previous quarter were $1.29. This is above market expectations of $1.27. Sales were $90.1 billion, it said. This also exceeded market expectations of $88.9 billion. In particular, quarterly sales reached an all-time high.
Apple’s stock price jumped 7.56% from the previous trading day to $155.74 on the New York Stock Exchange on the 28th. This is the highest daily increase since July 2020.
When Apple, the leader of the U.S. stock market, rallyed, the entire U.S. stock market. Dow jumped 2.59%, S&P 500 jumped 2.46%, and Nasdaq jumped 2.87% on the same day.
Against this background, the departure of a large number of workers from the Zhengzhou plant is likely to cause Apple’s stock price to fall, and Apple’s stock price to fall means a fall in the U.S. stock market.
