Huge staff cuts at Chinese Apple supplier raise the question: can the country’s businesses withstand a drawn-out trade war?
- O-Film Group, a Chinese supplier of camera and touch panel parts for Apple, is reportedly cutting 8,000 staff at its central China’s plant
- Worries are growing over the resilience of China’s business sector as China shifts to a “patience tactic” in trade negotiations with the US, analysts say
O-Film Group, a major supplier of camera and touch-screen components for Apple, has reportedly laid off more than 8,000 staff at its plant in central China, adding to concerns about whether the country’s businesses can withstand a protracted trade war with the United States.
O-Film made the cuts at its factory in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, according to a report on Wednesday by Caixin, a Chinese financial news outlet.
Weighed down by a gloomy market outlook for smartphones, increasingly fierce competition and the affects of trade tariffs, O-Film has seen its profits crash this year.
Its investor relations department said it was “not aware of related information” when asked about the lay-offs in a call from the Post on Thursday afternoon.
However, some financial institutions are already clearing their exposure to the company. A joint stock bank based in south China’s Guangzhou said it was in the process of exiting its investment in O-Film, which was mainly in the form of bonds.
