Foxconn suspends iPhone factories in Shenzhen amid Covid-19 lockdown

Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Group has suspended operation at its factories in Shenzhen, a Chinese manufacturing hub, after a surge in Covid-19 cases led the city to lockdown in recent days.

The suspension of the Shenzhen plant’s operation started on Monday is in line with the local government’s goal of suppressing pandemic as quickly as possible, and the resumption date will depend on the local government, according to Foxconn.

Shenzhen government placed the city into lockdown for at least week, and citizen in the city would have to take three rounds of testing after new cases of Covid-19 infections were detected.

Foxconn has required all employees to take Covid-19 tests in compliance with the government’s new Covid-19 policy.

Foxconn’s sites in Shenzhen, in southern China, produce some iPhones, iPads and Macs, but large portion of the iPhones are produced at a factory in other province.

Foxconn has gradually relocated production from Shenzhen to China’s inland provinces recent years, including the world’s largest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, the capital city of China’s Henan Province.

According to research paper released by the Bank of America, almost 50% of Foxconn’s iPhones are produced at a factory in Henan province. Foxconn is able to ramp up production in Henan province to mitigate some losses at its factories in Shenzhen.

Shenzhen, which has a population of 17.6 million, is home to many Chinese tech giants including telecommunication equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co, social network and gaming giant Tencent , electric-vehicle and battery maker BYD, which is backed by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway.

Other manufacturing companies which said they had suspended Shenzhen operations included automakers Toyota and Volkswagen, Apple and Intel supplier Unimicron Technology Corp.