The outbreak of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus, which the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency, threatens to disrupt swathes of Chinese manufacturing, but so far Foxconn has experienced a ‘fairly small impact’ from the virus outbreak as it shifted production to other countries.
Taiwan’s Foxconn, which makes smartphones for Apple and other brands, has halted “almost all” of its production in China after companies were told to shut until at least Feb. 10, the source said… The source told Reuters on Monday that Foxconn has so far seen a “fairly small impact” from the outbreak as it was utilizing factories in countries including Vietnam, India and Mexico to fill the gap, adding that the company will be able to make up for the delay if factories work overtime after the ban.
The source said a halt beyond Feb. 10 could disrupt Foxconn’s shipments, highlighting concerns about production hubs in the southern province of Guangdong and the city of Zhengzhou in Henan province where key iPhone plants are located.
“What we are worried about is delays for another week or even another month. The impact would be big,” the source said. “It definitely will have an impact on the Apple production line… The tricky question is whether we will be able to resume production (on Feb. 10)… It’s up to the instructions given by central and provincial governments.”
MacDailyNews Take: Positive news. Hopefully, no one else falls victim to 2019-nCoV and it can be contained ASAP!