In recent weeks, Apple Inc. has accelerated its plans to move some of its production out of China. Suggested countries are India and Vietnam.
The unrest in a place called iPhone City, a city of 300.000 workers in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, helped push the idea for change of Apple's country of assembly.
In iPhone City, about 300.000 work in a factory run by Foxconn Technology Group to make iPhones and other Apple products. At one point, about 85% of the Pro line of iPhones was manufactured there. But the Zhengzhou factory was rocked in late November by violent protests.
In videos posted onnetwork, workers upset over wages and Covid-19 restrictions are seen throwing objects and chanting "Stand up for your rights!".
But that was the icing on the cake, as a series of events have weakened China's status as a stable manufacturing hub for Apple, and it no longer feels comfortable having so much of its business tied up in one place.
While we believe that Apple's decision is part of a larger political shift in America, to state the facts dryly we tell you that the Apple wishes to makes 40% to 45% of iPhones in India, compared to a single-digit percentage currently.
Also suppliers report that Vietnam is also expected to take over much of the production for other Apple products, such as AirPods, smartwatches and laptops.
At present, consumers in America who want to do Christmas markets they are stuck in the long waiting times for iPhones. There is talk of workers missing from the Zhengzhou factory, with estimates ranging from thousands to tens of thousands.
Bear in mind that Foxconn accounts for 3,9% of China's exports, at least for 2021.