Apple’s China Strife Is a Problem of Its Own Design (Repeat)

(This column was originally published on Nov. 24. Today, Bloomberg News reported that Turmoil at Apple Inc.’s key manufacturing hub of Zhengzhou is likely to result in a production shortfall of close to 6 million iPhone Pro units this year, according to a person familiar with assembly operations.)

They’ve been hired from across the country to pile into an iPhone factory in central China. Their work will go on display in Apple Inc. stores, under Christmas trees, and on the income statement of the world’s biggest company. In the interim, thousands have been confined to their dorms in a strict Covid lockdown, starved of reliable information, denied adequate food and, at times, fearing for their safety.