The tragic accident at Foxconn"s plant in China on Friday that killed two workers could drastically affect the production of Apple"s iPad 2 tablets, according to a financial analyst. PCMag.com reports that Mike Abramsky of RBC Capital is predicting that the accident could cause the loss of between 1.8 million and 2.8 million iPad 2 units in the third quarter of 2011. It was previously predicted that about 8 million iPad 2 units would be made in that quarter. That means that if Abramsky is correct, the production of iPad 2 tablets could be cut by as much as 36 percent. That also means that Apple could lose as much as $1.7 billion in revenue.
As we reported earlier this week, the explosion at a Foxconn plant in Chengdu, China on Friday took the lives of two Foxconn workers with 16 other workers reported as being injured. A lighting strike is the reported cause of the explosion which affected several floors in the Foxconn building. The structure is reportedly the "polishing plant" for the company.
Abramsky did say that it was possible that the Chengdu plant could be shut down for as little as a month. If that happens, the production of iPad 2 tablets would only be taken down by 1.3 million units in the third quarter of 2011. Still, the fact is that even with the plant running at full capacity, the demand for Apple"s iPad 2 was still outstripping supplies. With the plant now shut down for an unknown period of time, this situation could affect Apple"s revenue numbers.