The population of Cincinnati, Ohio, is roughly 300,000 people. What if every resident worked for one company? Doing one thing. In essentially the same cluster of factories.
Well, then, you would have precisely what is going on at the iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, China. There are over 300,000 Chinese that works at that plant, and recent protests there because of COVID-19 lockdowns by the Chinese government mean all of those people could soon be out of a job.
Why? Because Apple is making plans to bolt. Out of China and into India and Vietnam after the brutal crackdowns and protests that have been going on for a few weeks.
On top of the COVID protests because of the draconian measures of the commie government in China, there have been wage issues, where the Foxconn Technology Group has either “accidentally” or intentionally paid new workers much less than they were promised.
It’s a mess all around, partly the fault of Apple, and they are high-tailing it out of the country to regroup.
What that means for fans of iPhones is simple; be patient. You would be waiting longer than ever for new phones if you were expecting one for Christmas. Production numbers in China for the new iPhone in Q4 ha has been disastrous, 10 million less than expected, with iPhone Pro and Pro Max getting hit the hardest.
Here’s one thing to keep an eye on; India and Vietnam don’t have the number of production engineers and suppliers necessary to build hundreds of millions of Apple products are made in China now.
Reports say that 85% of Apple’s Pro lineup is located in iPhone City (that is a real thing) located in Zhengzhou, a city of 10 million people.
If you’re wondering if Apple pays fair wages in China, it doesn’t look like it. The average salary for Foxconn workers is $314 per month, far below the average in the city.
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