Foxconn suspends operations in Shenzhen, China | Photo credit: Apple
TAIPEI, March 14 (Reuters) – Foxconn, a supplier to Apple, said on Monday it had suspended operations in the city of Shenzhen, China, due to restrictions related to the coronavirus outbreak.
Shenzhen authorities have decided to carry out mass testing after dozens of new coronavirus cases were registered in the city.
The Taiwanese company said in a statement that it will suspend operations in Shenzhen until further notice and relocate operations to other factories in China to minimize the impact of the decision.
Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that activity at Foxconn subsidiaries in Shenzhen would be halted during the first half of the week.
One of the sources explained that the government allowed companies to operate if they could create a “closed management” system in which employees lived and worked in a bubble, cut off from the general public. Such a system was in place during the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Report Sarah Wu; French version Camille Raynaud)