In recent weeks, Apple slashed production orders for all three iPhone models that it unveiled in September.

The Wall Street Journal reports Apple Suppliers Suffer With Uncertainty Around iPhone Demand but it's not just the supplies getting hit.

The Nasdaq 100 is down close to 3 percent with the S&P 500 and Dow down close to 2 percent.

In recent weeks, Apple slashed production orders for all three of the iPhone models that it unveiled in September, these people said, frustrating executives at Apple suppliers as well as workers who assemble the handsets and their components.

Forecasts have been especially problematic in the case of the iPhone XR. Around late October, Apple slashed its production plan by up to a third of the approximately 70 million units it had asked some suppliers to produce between September and February, people familiar with the matter said.

And in the past week, Apple told several suppliers that it cut its production plan again for the iPhone XR, some of the people said Monday, as Apple battles a maturing smartphone market and stiff competition from Chinese producers.

At Foxconn Technology Co. , Apple’s largest assembler of iPhones in China, thousands of workers have voluntarily left earlier than they intended to after Foxconn cut overtime hours that are typically available during peak production periods, people familiar with the matter said. Many workers have come to rely on overtime as a key source of income. Foxconn declined to comment.

“The freeway of Apple suppliers is littered with roadkill,” said Timothy Arcuri, an analyst with the investment bank UBS who tracks the iPhone supply chain. “That’s one thing when units are growing and another when units aren’t going to grow. There’s an argument to be made now: Why take the risk?”

Upgrade Cycle

The new iPhone models cost $749 to $1,000, up from $649 to $769 in 2016.

At what point do people say: "You know what? This upgrade isn't worth the price. I'll keep this phone for a while."

How about now?