Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), Apple Inc’s main iPhone production partner, said its factories worldwide are coordinating with authorities in carrying out virus protection amid the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak and are preparing safety measures with the approval of local governments.
“Our group hasn’t received any client requests to move production resumption earlier,” the company, known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said in a statement.
Operating schedules would be arranged according to local governments’ requirements, the company said.
Hon Hai has been “fully coordinating” with authorities in carrying out virus prevention actions and putting safety measures in place before work resumes, it said in the statement.
The company had asked employees at a facility in Shenzhen, China, not to return to work when the extended Lunar New Year break ends today, a memo showed.
Nikkei Asian Review on Saturday reported that after Chinese authorities intervened, Hon Hai dropped plans to resume production after on-site inspections. Public health experts told the company its Shenzhen plants face high risks of infection and are not suitable to restart work, the newspaper reported, citing four people it did not name.
The Nikkei report said that after a videoconference held by Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) on Friday, the company later in the day canceled flight bookings for Taiwanese employees to travel to China from Friday last week to Friday.
Liu decided that the Zhengzhou complex in Henan Province could not restart work until it had been evaluated and approved by the local government, the report said.
Due to the spread of the virus, the Chinese authorities have instructed manufacturers to postpone work restarting following the Lunar New Year holiday until at least today and Hon Hai is one of the manufacturers with operations in China that have plans to reopen plants.
The Nikkei said the move to block Hon Hai from reopening in China has raised concern over a possible supply disruption in the global tech industry.
Volkswagen AG has also postponed the resumption of production at its China joint ventures.
The automaker cited limited travel options for its employees and said in a statement that its own supply chains were in the early stages of restarting after production stopped for national holidays at the end of last month. That break was extended as the virus spread.
SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co (上汽福斯汽車) postponed production at its factories by seven days until Monday next week, except for one plant in Shanghai, which would restart on schedule today.
Most vehicle production at FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Co (一汽-福斯汽車) would also restart today, one day later than announced at the end of last month. Its plant in Tianjin would not reopen until Monday next week.
Other automakers, including Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co, have already announced extensions of their production shutdowns in China. Tesla Inc would resume production at its factory in Shanghai today.
Additional reporting by CNA
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