Another iPhone supplier ceases operations as China’s Covid lockdown bites

As China's harsh Covid lockdown continues to disrupt normal life in Shanghai, another Apple manufacturer has decided to shut shop as the city struggles to contain new infections.

One of Apple’s top iPhone suppliers Pegatron on Tuesday said that it is halting its operations in its two facilities until further orders.

“The date of factory resumption is to be advised by the local government," the company said in a statement, adding that it would work with officials to resume operations "as soon as possible."

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This might come as a major blow to Apple as the Taiwanese company is responsible for making “roughly” 20 to 30 per cent of all iPhones.

Notably, Quanta, which helps make MacBooks, and iPad maker Compal Electronics, have also halted production at their sites in Shanghai, according to Nikkei Asia,

This decision comes a month after Foxconn, another iPhone manufacturer, halted operations in the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen in the wake of China’s “zero-Covid policy”.

Foxconn has "resumed fundamental operations" in Shenzhen as of late March, the company said.

With several Apple suppliers suspending their operations, the tech firm is likely to face supply crunch. So far, it is not immediately clear which types of manufacturing would be affected following Pegatron’s move.

Shanghai, the city of 26 million and home to major international companies, has become the epicentre of China’s latest COVID-19 surge.

For the past several weeks, Shanghai has been reporting more than 26,000 cases every day. In the past month, the city has recorded more than 220,000 Covid cases.

The majority of the city still remains under harsh lockdown that prohibits the residents to move outside even for purchasing essential items.

The residents have been confined to home for weeks even as anger grows over food shortages.

Watch |Residents scream from windows, horrifying videos emerge from Shanghai

(With inputs from agencies)