Foxconn announced on Wednesday that it will partially restart its iPhone production center in the technology hub of Shenzhen, China, as the city still remains closed with the resurgence of the Omicron variant.
According to information reported by Nikkei, two Foxconn campuses located in Shenzhen will partially resume their activity. The company indicates that it has obtained authorization from the authorities to resume its activities.
The Taiwanese company specializing in electronics explains that it will adopt a “closed loop” management process on all sites, a system aimed at isolating employees from the outside, and therefore from infections.
Foxconn had ceased operations on Monday, following the resurgence of Covid cases in Shenzhen. Residents of the city were asked not to leave the city, or to present a negative result in order to be able to leave or enter.
A closed circuit system
This closed-loop system that Foxconn wants to establish can only be implemented “on campuses that include both employee housing and production facilities”. It must also adhere to “strict industry guidelines and closed-loop management policies issued by the Shenzhen government,” the company points out.
Shenzhen said earlier in the week it was allowing ‘factory bubbles’, where workers only move between company accommodation and factories and are tested regularly, Olympic bubble style deployed for the Beijing Winter Games in the midst of a pandemic. Foxconn, which produces iPhones in particular, did not fail to follow this policy.
Reuters reports that JP Morgan analysts say Foxconn’s suspension of operations in Shenzhen is unlikely to have a big impact on iPhone production. Indeed, analysts say the Shenzhen region accounts for less than 20% of Foxconn’s total iPhone production capacity.