Apple is likely to cut production of its iPhone 3G smartphone by up to 40 percent during the current quarter, an analyst warned, saying the expected change signals weaker demand for consumer electronics, which isn’t news for anyone following the grim economy of late.

Apple followers replied by saying the cut won’t be so severe, but there probably will be a cut of some kind.

“That the firm’s iPhone production plans are being revised lower suggests that the global macroeconomic weakness is impacting even high-end consumers, those that are more likely to buy Apple’s expensive gadgets, and that no market segment will be spared in this global downturn,” Craig Berger was quoted as saying, a technology investment advisor.

The forecast is significantly more pessimistic than Berger’s earlier prediction, announced last month, that Apple will cut its iPhone production by 10-20%.

Odds are the iPhone will be impacted by the global economy to some degree, but the amount of impact is still to be determined.