Yes, this is the solution for now! If anyone is interested, I'm posting the code I put into my node build script AFTER running the 'pod install':
async function replaceInFiles(targetPath, before, after) {
var command = `unset LANG; find . -type f -name '*' -print0 |xargs -0 sed -i '' 's/${before}/${after}/g'`
await shell(command, {"cwd": targetPath})
}
.
.
.
//HACK: fix bug in pods installer
var oldText = "readlink \"${source}\""
var newText = "readlink -f \"${source}\""
console.log(`BUG FIX: changing ${oldText} to ${newText} in ${brandTargetFolder}...`)
await replaceInFiles(`${brandTargetFolder}/platforms/ios/Pods/Target Support Files/Pods-${brand}`, oldText, newText)