> Wouldn't it destroy Foxconn and only defer revenue a bit for Apple?

They might not even have to do that... from what I understand, they are working with Foxconn to move some production out of China. Both companies can benefit from spreading some of the political risk around.

> But they don't own any factories, right? Wouldn't it destroy Foxconn and only defer revenue a bit for Apple?

Do you realise that there would be no shortage of customers for them in China after Apple leaves? The biggest problem as I wrote in a post below is that Apple may leave China, but Foxconn can not. It will still have an absolutely mammoth manufacturing capacity that will be sold to Apple's competitors the moment they leave.

The biggest shock to me in recent days was seeing an advertisement for a humongous amounts of manufacturing machinery being pretty much liquidated by Foxconn. With the amount of stuff being sold, it can possibly be a double digit of Iphone production capacity.

Foxconn still runs the Apple factories in Brazil and India for Apple, so it might not be that bad for them.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/hardware/foxconn-i... https://www.cultofmac.com/131295/a-visit-to-foxconns-not-so-...

Apple would still have to find and build a relationship with a new assembly partner, that would cost a lot of money and most likely have some quality missteps along the way as the new partner trains employees and sets up quality control. That would take several months to a year to iron out all the kinks and in the mean time Apple would have very limited stock.

Logistics and operations! Yes, Apple outsources to Foxconn, but if Foxconn’s expenses go up, they are going to pay for it eventually (and possibly up front).

A few hundred million or even a few billion isn’t going to hurt Apple in the long run, sure, but it will definitely hurt in the short.

Foxconn is Taiwanese company. They could figure something out if push comes to shove.

The manufacturing cost of an iphone is closer to 400 dollars, the cost of manufacturing doubling would be a huge hit to apple.