Foxconn suspends iPhone factories in Shenzhen amid lockdown of China’s southern tech hub
- The lockdown in Shenzhen, China’s tech hub, is the latest example of how the country’s zero tolerance approach to Covid is translating into supply chain disruptions
- Foxconn has required all employees to take Covid tests, along with other measures to ensure their health and safety, a company spokesman said
Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Group has suspended operations at its factories in Shenzhen, without a specific timeline for resumption, after the city announced a lockdown to battle a surge of Omicron cases.
The lockdown in Shenzhen, China’s tech hub in southern Guangdong province, is the latest example of how the nation's zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19 is translating into supply chain disruptions, while most other countries are learning to live with the virus.
“Due to our diversified production sites in China, we have adjusted the production line to minimise the potential impact,” a spokesman for Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Technology Group, said in a statement.
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The suspension of the Shenzhen plant’s operation began on Monday “in compliance with the local government’s new Covid-19 policy”, and the resumption date will depend on the local government, according to the company.
Foxconn has required all employees to take Covid-19 tests, along with other measures to ensure their health and safety, the spokesman added. The Shenzhen campuses in Guanlan and Longhua are important production bases for Foxconn, which employs about 200,000 people in total at the two locations.
An office worker from Foxconn’s Longhua campus told the Post that management asked all staff to stay at home during the three-day suspension.
“Only employees who receive approval can come back to the office,” said the worker, who lives off campus. “We’re waiting for the company’s policy on pay and attendance during the suspension.”
Foxconn, owned by Taiwanese billionaire Terry Gou Tai-ming, set up its first mainland factory in Shenzhen in 1988, taking advantage of China's low-cost labour and resources, helping to build the country into an integral part of the global value chain for hi-tech products.
The Taiwanese company has gradually relocated production from Shenzhen to inland provinces, including the world’s largest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, due to rising labour costs in Shenzhen.
The suspension at Foxconn Shenzhen came after the southern Chinese tech hub announced a citywide lockdown on Sunday evening, closing public transport including subway and buses, and ordering residents to work from home until March 20.
Apart from firms offering essential public services and those ensuring daily supplies are delivered to Shenzhen and neighbouring Hong Kong, all other companies will need to follow the work-from-home policy or suspend operations, according to the Shenzhen government. Employees can file a complaint to the human resources authorities if they are still asked to come to work.
However, the government noted that industrial sites where workers live, work and commute in a closed environment can continue to operate normally with prevention measures in place, according to a statement issued Monday by the health department of Shenzhen.
It was unclear whether Foxconn’s Shenzhen factories would be allowed to operate under the “live and work” rule.
Shenzhen, which has a population of 17.6 million, has been battling a surge of infections caused by the Omicron variant since late February, with 86 new confirmed cases reported on Sunday. It will carry out three rounds of citywide Covid-19 tests this week.
