Coronavirus: Foxconn delays return of workers to main China iPhone plants
- The directive indicates the struggles Apple’s primary contract electronics manufacturing partner is having with the outbreak
Foxconn Technology Group has told some employees at its main iPhone-making unit that it is postponing the resumption of production, a sign of the struggles Apple’s primary supplier is having with the coronavirus outbreak.
Taiwan-based Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, sent a message via its internal app on Sunday that it would not be able to decide on a back-to-work date “until further notice” for its iDPBG business unit, according to a version reviewed by Bloomberg News.
That division makes gadgets for Apple at a factory in the so-called iPhone city of Zhengzhou, located in central China’s Henan province, and two other plants in the southern coastal city of Shenzhen.
It is not clear how many employees received the message and whether other workers were summoned back.
Foxconn declined to comment on the message and said on Monday that its factories will comply with government requirements, and resume output in an “orderly manner” by staggering the return of workers.
The internal directive is bound to fuel more confusion over when the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer will fire up its factories in mainland China.