Apple is reportedly planning to prolong production cuts in the wake of slow sales of its flagship iPhone 6s and 6s Plus devices.
Earlier this year, Apple slashed production for the January to March quarter by nearly 30 percent year over year. According to the Nikkei business daily, Apple recently told suppliers it will need to continue the reduced production output through its current quarter.
Nikkei reported Apple isn’t planning to boost production of the new iPhone SE to offset the dip in iPhone 6s and 6s Plus sales.
The move is similar to steps the company took with the iPhone 5c when it cut production of the device in half in late 2013.
The decision follows Apple’s warnings in January that it was expecting its first sales decline in 13 years during the January to March quarter. That drop is part of an overall dip in global smartphone sales, which Gartner has forecast to grow just seven percent this year to 1.5 billion units.
If Apple decides to maintain the reductions for an extended period, Nikkei said the slowdown could impact parts suppliers like Japan Display, Sharp, Toshiba and Sony.
As of 11:58 a.m. ET, Apple shares were down 1.59 percent on the news.
