Coronavirus: iPhone maker Foxconn warns staff to keep away from Shenzhen production base
- Foxconn, China’s largest private employer, recently slashed its 2020 sales outlook, anticipating disruptions in manufacturing
Foxconn Technology Group told employees at its Shenzhen facility not to return to work when the extended Lunar New Year break ends on February 10, according to a memo obtained by Bloomberg News.
The moratorium represents an extreme effort by Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry and Apple’s most important supplier, to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus that has paralysed much of China’s manufacturing industry.
The Taiwanese company’s main iPhone production base is farther north in Zhengzhou, but coastal Shenzhen serves as its Chinese headquarters, where most the tens of thousands it employs there are out-of-towners. The firm assembles a small portion of iPhones there.
“To safeguard everyone’s health and safety and comply with government virus prevention measures, we urge you not to return to Shenzhen,” Foxconn wrote in a text message sent to employees.
“We’ll update you on the situation in the city,” Foxconn said. “The company will protect everyone’s work-related rights and interests in the duration. As for the happy reunion date in Shenzhen, please wait for further notice.”