Apple is intently watching how the coronavirus outbreak is unfolding in South Korea and Italy, the place the corporate has suppliers, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook mentioned in an interview. Apple counts main Korean show makers Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics; among its suppliers. It additionally sources chips from a manufacturing facility in Italy run by Franco-Italian chipmaker STMicroelectronics, based on its most up-to-date provider record.
Cook informed Fox Business Networks that Apple had re-opened 80 % of its shops in China. He additionally mentioned that iPhone factories in China had restarted and have been in “phase three of the ramp mode.”
“It will take some time, but by in large I think this is a temporary condition, not a long-term kind of thing,” Cook mentioned.
Asked if Apple would transfer manufacturing out of China to international locations comparable to Vietnam or Cambodia, Cook mentioned the corporate’s provide chain was international and that the corporate thought of pace to markets and engineering abilities along with value. He additionally mentioned Apple’s provide chain managers have been inspecting how resilient to the coronavirus shock the corporate’s provide chains have been.
“And so the question for us after we get on the other side will be, was the resilience there or not and do we need to make some changes,” he mentioned. “My perspective sitting here today is that if there are changes, you’re talking about adjusting some knobs, not some sort of wholesale fundamental change.”
Apple final week mentioned it could not meet its steering for the quarter ending in March and that it could expertise provide chain shortages. Cook mentioned he didn’t know whether or not the coronavirus would have an effect on the quarter ending in June.
On Wednesday at Apple’s annual shareholder assembly, Cook mentioned Apple would open its first retail retailer in India.
Cook was interviewed in Alabama, the place he had traveled to announce a program to show pc coding in faculties.
This post was last modified on March 2, 2020 8:10 am