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Goertek, the Chinese firm that was once a key supplier of AirPods Pro, has recently suffered a significant setback after its Vice President unexpectedly resigned for “personal reasons”. The resignation comes just days after the VP, Kazuyoshi Yoshinaga, made comments suggesting that clients were pressing all suppliers to build factories outside of China.
Goertek’s stock had fallen by 60% after Apple dropped the company as a supplier, although it remains unclear whether the Chinese firm continued making regular AirPods. Despite this, Goertek still supplies many different technology clients.
On February 28, 2023, Yoshinaga spoke in general terms about all of Goertek’s clients, stating that they were visiting the company “almost every day” and asking when it would be possible to move out of China. However, there was no mention of his resignation plans at the time.
The news of Yoshinaga’s departure was revealed in a stock exchange filing made on March 7, 2023, which listed that he was resigning for “personal reasons”. Notably, the filing made no mention of Yoshinaga’s earlier comments, and he has yet to provide any explanation for his departure.
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While it is possible that the resignation was planned, the lack of any announcement on the company’s news page and the absence of a successor suggests that the move may have come as a surprise to Goertek’s management.
The timing of the resignation is unfortunate for Goertek, which is facing pressure from clients to move production outside of China. With Yoshinaga’s departure, the company may struggle to address these concerns and maintain its status as a key supplier to technology firms.
