Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., parent company of Apple assembler Foxconn, warned staff at its Shenzhen facility not to return to work when the extended Lunar New Year break ends Feb. 10, according to a memo obtained by Bloomberg News. It’s an attempt to mitigate the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus.
The moratorium represents an extreme effort by Apple Inc.’s most important partner to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus that’s paralyzed much of China’s manufacturing. Foxconn’s main iPhone-making base is farther north in Zhengzhou but coastal Shenzhen serves as its Chinese headquarters and the majority of the tens of thousands employed there are out-of-towners. The company also assembles a small portion of iPhones there.
“To safeguard everyone’s health and safety and comply with government virus prevention measures, we urge you not to return to Shenzhen,” Foxconn wrote in a text message sent to employees. “We’ll update you on the situation in the city. The company will protect everyone’s work-related rights and interests in the duration. As for the happy reunion date in Shenzhen, please wait for further notice.”
MacDailyNews Take: Hopefully, by some miracle, researchers will find a way to fight the virus very, very quickly!
Note: Yesterday, it was reported that Apple iPhone assembler Foxconn plans to ramp up production in factories in China next week, but it will take at least a week or two more to resume full production.