iPhone shipments delayed over China's Covid lockdown: Apple

Officials locked down a district home to Foxconn's iPhone factory - the world's largest - on Nov. 2 for seven days.

Cases were also detected inside the factory, prompting a sudden shutdown that led to workers fleeing the premises.

On Monday, the company started a recruitment drive at its Zhengzhou plant, the BBC reported.

It is offering workers who left the plant between Oct. 10 and Nov. 5 a one-time bonus of 500 yuan (US$69) if they return to work.

It is also offering a pay increase of 30 yuan an hour, according to a statement posted on its recruitment WeChat account.

The country reported 5,643 new Covid infections on Sunday, its highest daily tally in six months.

Zhengzhou, where the Foxconn factory is located, is the capital of Henan province in central China and is home to about 10 million people.

It recorded 3,683 cases and 22 deaths on Monday.

Apple's news comes as China reiterates its commitment to zero Covid.

"As we have done throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we are prioritising the health and safety of the workers in our supply chain," said a statement from Apple, which launched its new iPhone line in September.

"We continue to see strong demand for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models. However, we now expect lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we previously anticipated and customers will experience longer wait times to receive their new products."

The announcement will likely disappoint investors who were hoping China would lift its Covid restrictions in the near future.

Chinese stock markets rose sharply on Friday on the back of rumours of an end to Covid lockdowns, the BBC report added.

Beijing's unyielding approach to arresting the spread of the virus has come at a huge economic cost.

But the country's leader Xi Jinping, who has personally endorsed the policy, has given no indication that it will ease soon.

The latest figures show the world's second-largest economy struggling to cope with prolonged challenges posed by persistent Covid restrictions, a property slump and the risk of a global recession.

China trade figures released on Monday showed its imports and exports contracted unexpectedly in October.

It is the first slump since May 2020.

Outbound shipments for the month dropped 0.3 percent from a year earlier which is in stark contrast to a 5.7 percent gain in September.

It was the worst performance since May 2020.

Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker which accounts for 70 percent of iPhone shipments globally, has revised down its fourth quarter outlook due to China's Covid control measures.

The Q4 is usually a busy time for the tech company as demand for electronics rises ahead of the year-end holiday season in the West.

The Taiwan-based company said they are working with the Henan provincial government "to stamp out the pandemic and resume production to its full capacity as quickly as possible," the BBC said.