The information reported today that shortly after COVID-19-related lockdowns and protests in China impacted iPhone maker Foxconn in late 2022, Apple’s senior vice president of operations Sabih Khan ordered managers to reduce the number of workers on iPhone assembly lines by as much as 50% over the next few years.
To achieve this goal, Apple has reportedly started approving expensive automation projects for iPhone assembly that it had previously shied away from. The report claims these efforts have resulted in a “significant degree” of automation being used in the production of the iPhone 15, but automation still posed challenges for Apple due to the complexity of manufacturing.
For example, the report states that Apple had to cancel some automation processes for the iPhone 16 series due to a “high error rate”:
This year, Apple sought to build on its success in automation by using machines to assemble the iPhone’s buttons, receiver, speaker and motherboard into the chassis, according to three people who worked in Apple’s supply chain. But the machines had trouble properly attaching those components, which must be carefully screwed into place at odd angles, the people said.
Apple’s push toward automation could allow the company to move even more iPhone assembly to countries outside China, such as India, Vietnam and Thailand, as part of its efforts to diversify its supply chain in Southeast Asia.
For further details, see The information‘s report.
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