Tech companies are finding themselves at the center of the falling out between the US and China as the two nations spar over the Communist Party’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Quarterly earnings reports are due out this week from Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft, which will offer a first look at just how much pain the sector is feeling since the outbreak of the virus.
Apple, which relies on China for a significant chunk of its sales revenue, said back in February that they did not expect to meet their revenue goals.
Facebook and Google are also expected to see some drop in their earnings, specifically due to advertising declines, according to Politico.
The outlet reports, however, that Amazon has seen demand soar in the wake of the virus. The tech giant has had to hire 175,000 workers in the last two months just to keep up with the volume of orders.
Some US tech companies that manufacture their devices in the Communist-run nation have begun distancing themselves from Beijing.
FoxConn, which manufactures iPhones and other electronics, has been exploring moving their supply chains out of China, considering India and Vietnam as potential partners, Axios reports.
Meanwhile, as tech companies look for new homes for their production lines, manufacturers not involved with China, such as South Korea’s Samsung, will have less competition in the coming quarters.
The Trump administration placed Chinese telecom giant Huawei on a blacklist last May over national security concerns, a move that limited the sale of American-made goods to the company.
Since then, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has led US efforts to dissuade allies from using the tech company.
Source: Nypost
