Apple is reportedly shifting the production of a number of its popular hardware products to Taiwan as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to wreak havoc in China, killing more than 2,000 people in the country. To reduce its exposure to China in the face of the ongoing crisis, the Cupertino giant is reportedly moving the production of many of its popular gadgets, including AirPods Pro Lite, iPads and Apple Watches, to Taiwan.
The ongoing coronavirus crisis has not only taken a massive toll on human lives already, it is also affecting commercial activity in China because of the forced lockdowns imposed as a health safety measure by the country’s government. That being the case, a vast number of industries are being adversely affect, including, but not limited to, aviation, hospitality, automotive and of course, technology.
Apple is one of the non-Chinese companies most severely impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, with the company recently reducing its sales forecast for the year because of the crisis. In an investor note released this week, the company said: “(we are) experiencing a slower return to normal conditions than (we) had anticipated. As a result, (we do) not expect to meet the revenue guidance (we) provided for the March quarter”.
The tech industry as a whole has been massively affected by the COVID-19 crisis, with the proposed MWC 2020 having to be cancelled out of safety concerns for delegates. A recent report from Counterpoint claimed that Huawei will be one of the worst hit because of the problem, although, other Chinese tech firms will not be spared either. According to the report, “OPPO and Vivo will also be impacted because of their greater reliance on offline sales channels”.
