The 42 Chinese Apple Stores will extend their closure at least until February 14 and Apple suppliers are also paralyzed.
Initially, Apple expected to reopen them on Monday, February 10, but the coronavirus crisis does not pause. In one memo posted yesterday internally the hypothesis of a longer stop was seriously advanced.
Beyond this date it is still unknown. These stores have been closed since February 2. On the other hand, Apple offices and call centers were supposed to find activity next week.
Upstream of the Apple chain in China, Foxconn will experience paralysis. The Chinese authorities blocked him in his intentions to relaunch certain factories. Yesterday the group had asked its employees to postpone their return to the Shenzhen site where its management offices and a small iPhone production unit are located.
Ultimately, the larger Zhengzhou site is now also affected after health inspections have raised the possibility of high risks in the transmission of coronavirus, reports the Nikkei. The insufficient ventilation in the canteens and dormitories was pointed out, knowing that these factories concentrate a significant density of personnel.
It is not only Apple that will see its production plans thwarted, Foxconn assembles e-readers and speakers for Amazon, Huawei smartphones without forgetting hardware for Dell, HP and others.
Compal Electronics, which produces iPads for Apple, has postponed for one week, until February 17, the reopening of one of its sites, adds the Nikkei.
This crisis may have consequences on the availability of products already in the catalog (read Before the coronavirus, Apple had ordered 45 million AirPods), but also on those to come. Last fall, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expected the first half of 2020 loaded with ads new materials…
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