How Covid-19 vaccination in Taiwan affects Apple – Times of India

Apple may run into manufacturing problems if Covid-19 vaccination is not increased in Taiwan. A component supplier has warned Apple that the shortage of chips worldwide will worsen as local suppliers are forced to shut down manufacturing plants in order to fight the pandemic.
Nikkei Asia in a recent report said, “A leading Taiwanese semiconductor supplier will suspend all domestic production for two days after reporting a COVID infection cluster, risking the continuity of the island’s crown-jewel chip supply chain at a time of a global shortage.”
In Taiwan, only 2.5% of the population have received the vaccine and with increasing Covid-19 cases, more manufacturing units will have to shut down temporarily. Taiwan reportedly has over 8,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases.
“King Yuan Electronics, the world’s leading chip testing service provider, said it will suspend production at sites in Miaoli and Hsinchu…KYEC’s production suspension could aggravate the global chip shortage, which has already hit a swath of players from automobile makers to consumer electronics giants,” it added.
Apple has already intervened to get employees at TSMC responsible for making A-series and M1 chipsets vaccinated. “TSMC is a vital supplier for Apple, and any reduction in its output could have dramatic consequences for the supply of almost every Apple product, from Apple Watch to Mac,” said Nikkei Asia.
Not just Apple, companies like Mediatek, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Intel and Novatek will also get impacted if KYEC decides to halt manufacturing for some time as it is a key supplier to these companies as well.