Lenovo to boost production overseas as coronavirus crisis slows down China manufacturing
- The big concern for the world’s largest personal computer supplier is the delayed return of workers to factories
Lenovo Group, the world’s largest personal computer supplier, plans to increase production overseas, as manufacturing in China has slowed down because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Chairman and chief executive Yang Yuanqing said on Thursday that the company’s “global manufacturing footprint” – including factories in Brazil, Mexico, India and the United States – will help keep it ahead of ongoing disruptions in domestic production.
“We have also been working closely with our supply chain partners to ensure normal operation,” Yang said in a conference call after Lenovo reported better-than-expected earnings in the December quarter.
The company’s efforts reflect the current difficulties of manufacturing in China – dubbed the “world’s factory” for everything from clothing and cars to smartphones and toys – amid rigid government measures to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus. Those directives included extending the Lunar New Year holiday as well as ordering companies and factories across 17 cities and provinces to cease operations until February 9.
Lenovo’s manufacturing complex in Wuhan, capital of central China’s Hubei province and epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, has remained shut down, limiting the volume of smartphones and tablets the company can produce.