Apple returns to work as COVID-19 impacts production

It seems counter-intuitive that in the same week Apple begins insisting corporate staff begin returning to the office as if the pandemic is over we see the company’s supply chain totter as COVID-19 shuts down production. This strongly suggests the virus has not finished with us yet.

What’s happening today

We all know Apple is insisting its workers begin returning to the office this month, starting with one day a week and ramping up to three, with two hybrid working days.

I’ve remarked before that this inflexible approach will drive staff to seek roles elsewhere, and I suspect this is what Apple HR will be experiencing at this time.

There’s nothing like doing the same work remotely for a company breaking profit records for two years to put things into perspective. The Great Resignation will continue until business accepts that the new normal has to accent the new above the former normal.

No matter how much damage that does to real estate.

Meanwhile, in China

Meanwhile, in China, the nation continues to engage in aggressive lockdowns as the latest edition of the constantly self-reiterating COVID-19 virus is creating the biggest outbreak since the virus was discovered. And while production was able to maintain throughout recent weeks, it is beginning to be impacted, reports claim.

(1/2) Foxconn at least can partially support iPhone and iPad supply to lower the impacts of discontinued operations at Pegatron and Compal.https://t.co/My4xnjYYma

— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) April 12, 2022

Pegatron has been forced to suspend production at two plants in China, one in Shanghai and another in Kunshan. And one month ago, Foxconn also had to temporarily shutter its Shenzhen factory while it put protections in place.

The impact is short supply. MacBook Pro customers are now being advised that they’ll need to wait until as late as June for new products to arrive, Bloomberg says, while supply of the recently introduced iPhone SE still appears to be holding up.

The devilish detail

We know Apple’s operations teams have been working overtime throughout the pandemic. Efforts to diversify production have been part of this, so it’s open to question the extent to which new manufacturing facilities the company has opened up, including those in India, have been able to pick up any shortfall created by closures in China.

It also seems worth noting that much of this reporting comes from the same publications that claimed slow iPhone sales prior to Apple’s record-setting Q2 announcement, so it may be wise to consume these claims with a couple of spoonfuls of salt.

Apple’s chip manufacturer, TSMC, meanwhile, is expected to reveal record revenue once again in its current quarter.

All the same, there’s no doubt that with the pandemic, war, climate change and political instability, crisis conditions prevail.

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