Shenzhen denies blocking Apple supplier Foxconn from resuming production
Local Chinese authorities have not blocked Apple supplier Foxconn from resuming production amid a coronavirus outbreak, they said in a statement on Sunday, denying a youthful report in the Nikkei Business Daily.
The Nikkei, citing four persons familiar with the matter, said on Saturday that public health professionals had carried out inspections at Foxconn's factories and told the company that there is a "risky of coronavirus infection" at the facilities, making them unsuitable for a production restart.
Shenzhen’s Longhua district, where Foxconn’s major factory is situated, said in a statement on its official WeChat account on Sunday that those reports were untrue and that it had been still conducting checks, adding that the business would restart production once inspections were completed.
It said it had received proposals from three Foxconn subsidiaries on Feb. 6 detailing how the Taipei-headquartered firm, making smartphones for Apple and other brands, planned to set up place epidemic prevention and control measures.
The thousands of personnel that work in Foxconn’s factories should wear masks, undergo temperature checks, and adhere to a dining system considered safe, it said in the statement.
“We will announce to the general public the company’s production resumption situation regularly,” it added.
A source familiar with the problem told Reuters that thousands of personnel had already returned from a protracted new year holiday and were waiting to begin focus on Feb. 10, despite the fact that plants in Zhengzhou, Shenzhen and Kunshan hadn't received the just do it to resume production.
Foxconn on Saturday said within an e-mailed statement to Reuters that procedure schedules for its facilities in China would follow the recommendations of local governments, but declined to touch upon specific production facilities.
“We've not received any requests from our customers on the necessity to resume production earlier (compared to the local governments’ recommendations),” it said.
The Chinese economy will sputter toward normal on Monday following the coronavirus outbreak forced authorities in a lot of the country to increase the week-long Lunar New Year holiday by 10 days amid mounting alarm over an epidemic that by Sunday had killed over 800 people.
Foxconn could see a “big” production impact and shipments to customers including Apple face disruption if the Chinese factory halt extends right into a second week, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters earlier this week.
