In a current press release, Apple points out a decreased production capacity for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models.
The reason for the significantly lower production is the COVID-19 pandemic. Apple is working on increasing capacities again despite this.
It is rare for Apple to comment on such an event, but it probably has to do with the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Apple seems to be legally obligated to point out this special economic situation in the sense of the investors.
Other sources and media also report on the situation in the iPhone factories in China. The lower production capacity is probably due to the fact that China has a very consistent zero covid strategy. If a case is discovered, the entire factory is sealed off in the worst case, and workers report that they then have to cure their illness in the factory’s own dormitory without further medical assistance.
As a result, the workers draw consequences: they flee the factory so that they do not have to face the situation of being locked up sick in the iPhone factory by the Chinese government. So it’s a combination of outsourcing iPhone production to China, Corona, the restrictive policies of the Chinese government, and the poor treatment of workers in the factories.
