HENAN: Foxconn's Zhengzhou factory in this province in central China, which manufactures half of the iPhones in the world, has been facing a labor shortage of up to 200,000 workers just weeks before the new iPhone 13's launch in mid-September, the Global Times learned.

Industry observers said the biggest-ever gap for assembling workers is a result of both production backlog to the Chinese mainland as Foxconn's manufacturing bases in Southeast Asia were shut down amid the coronavirus outbreak and the demand for Apple gadgets. Since it is very hard to fill the vacancy in a short time, it is likely that the new series of iPhones could face delays in shipment.