The riot at a Wistron plant in India may result in Apple looking for alternative makers of the iPhones that the Taiwanese ODM has been handling, but switching orders among suppliers may not be easy, according to industry sources.
Wistron's production at the India plant will definitely take a hit in the near term, as Apple has placed the ODM on probation and will not give it any new orders until it completes corrective measures.
But it remains to be seen whether the plant's long-term prospects will also be affected. It is not easy for Apple to switch its iPhone orders to non-iPhone production partners quickly due to the lengthy validation required, the sources said.
Apple might shift some of the iPhone orders to Pegatron, one of the existing iPhone makers, but that would run against Apple's ongoing move to relocate some production out of China.
It is also impossible at the moment for Apple to switch more iPhone orders to Foxconn, the primary assembler of iPhone devices, as the Taiwanese firm's factories are running in high gear for rolling out the most popular iPhone 12 Pro lineup, the sources said.
With the supply of the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max remaining tight, Foxconn may not be able to devote capacity for additional orders.
