Samsung to shift some smartphone production to Vietnam due to coronavirus
- The company’s plant in the southern city of Gumi makes the new Galaxy S20 and the Z Flip foldable smartphones
- Gumi is near the city of Daegu, the epicentre of South Korea’s novel coronavirus outbreak
Samsung Electronics said on Friday that it would temporarily move some smartphone production to Vietnam from South Korea after another of its Korean staff tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing it to close a factory.
A company spokeswoman said the group had suspended operations at its factory in the southern city of Gumi in South Korea after a worker tested positive for the virus.
The plant, which makes Samsung’s premium smartphones like the Galaxy S20 and the Z Flip foldable handset, will resume production on Saturday, she said.
Since late February, a total of six workers have tested positive at the factory complex in Gumi, close to the city of Daegu – the epicentre of South Korea’s novel coronavirus outbreak – leading to previous temporary closures at the plant.
The move to shift output of “some premium smartphones” to Vietnam “intends to supply products to consumers in more effective, stable and timely manner”, Samsung said in a statement.