A corona outbreak at a Foxconn factory in the Chinese city of Zhenzhou could have serious consequences for Apple. As a result, many employees left the factory where iPhones are made so as not to end up in quarantine.

In November, therefore, up to a third less of the smartphones could be made, insiders say to Reuters news agency.

The factory in Zhenzhou, which employs 200,000 people who also live on the factory site, was hit by a corona outbreak last week. There were still relatively few cases, but the management of the factory immediately took strict measures. Some people had to quarantine in the sleeping quarters as a result, but the company tried to make up for the gaps by having other employees work more or longer shifts.

Employees did not like that and decided to leave the factory in large numbers this weekend. They mostly went back home to the villages near Zhengzhou. This leads to further problems in the iPhone factory, which can now be produced for a shorter period of time.

Foxconn, meanwhile, is trying to limit production damage by having more iPhones made at a factory in Shenzhen. Foxconn assembles 70 percent of all iPhones worldwide. Making Apple smartphones accounts for just under half of Taiwanese Foxconn’s revenue.

In Australia, other problems are looming for Apple. A large part of the staff of the Apple Stores will go on strike again. They want better benefits than Apple has offered them until now.