TAIPEI (Reuters) – Major Apple Inc supplier and iPhone assembler Foxconn said on Monday it has suspended operations in the Chinese city of Shenzhen to comply with the local government’s COVID-19 control policies.
The southern tech hub of Shenzhen has tightened its COVID-19 restrictions after it reported 60 new local cases with confirmed symptoms for Saturday, the city’s highest since China contained the first outbreak in early 2020.
Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, said it will deploy backup plants to reduce disruption to production.
“Due to our diversified production sites in China, we have adjusted the production line to minimise the potential impact,” the Taiwanese firm said in a statement.
Foxconn has required all employees to take a PCR test and will resume its Shenzhen operations when advised to do so by the local government, the statement said.
Other Taiwanese companies which said they had suspended Shenzhen operations included chip substrate and printed circuit board maker Unimicron Technology Corp, another Apple supplier, and flexible printed circuit board maker Sunflex Technology Co Ltd.
Sunflex said its plant would be closed until Sunday.
(Reporting by Sarah Wu and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
