Apple’s largest iPhone plant is close to resuming peak production capacity, following weeks of limited production.
Bloomberg reports that Foxconn, Apple’s largest supplier, is at 90% of its peak capacity at its main iPhone plant in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou. The plant is currently operating with 200,000 staff, Foxconn executive Vic Wang told the publication.
The recent outbreak followed weeks of turmoil at the Zhengzhou plant known as iPhone City, which produces the vast majority of high-end iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max devices. Thousands of workers fled or staged protests against extreme Covid curbs in November — a movement that reverberated across the country. Foxconn ended most of those restrictions last month and ramped up incentives for both new and existing employees.
Apple in November told consumers that it expected iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments to be lower than had been expected due to temporary COVID-19 restrictions at the Zhengzhou, China Foxconn factory.
China’s zero-COVID policy requires Chinese cities to quell outbreaks by using restrictions, and workers at the factory had been attempting to return home to avoid being trapped at the factory if the lockdown increased.
On November 2, the Chinese government ordered a one-week lockdown for an industrial area where the Foxconn factory is situated following a COVID-19 outbreak.
Supply of the iPhone 14 Pro has recently started to improve, with delivery times on Apple’s online store in the United States showing just one to two weeks for most configurations.
