A surge in COVID-19 cases in India has hindered the expansion plans of Apple Inc’s three major Taiwanese suppliers in the South Asian country, industry sources said.
A new wave of COVID-19 infections has spread from northern India to Tamil Nadu in the southernmost part of the country and Karnataka in the southwest, where Taiwan-based manufacturers Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), Wistron Corp (緯創) and Pegatron Corp (和碩) have operations.
The three companies’ production expansion plans have slowed due to the disease, with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka reporting more than 30,000 confirmed cases per day over the past week, the sources said.
Photo: CNA
Last week, Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) outside of Taiwan, sent 13 Taiwanese executives back to Taiwan on a charter flight amid fears over the rise in infections.
After the executives previously stationed in Tamil Nadu’s capital, Chennai, left, only one Taiwanese executive remains in India to supervise a planned expansion in the city, they added.
The virus spread has also reduced the workforce at Hon Hai’s Chennai base, and labor at a construction site for another facility has been cut by almost 50 percent under disease prevention guidelines from authorities, the sources said.
Existing production in Chennai is still gearing up to roll out iPhones for Apple and shipments remain normal, the sources said.
On May 8, Hon Hai said that 10 employees at its Chennai plant had tested positive for COVID-19.
Wistron has also recalled most of its Taiwanese executives from its compound in Narsapur, Karnataka, where construction of new production lines has also slowed.
Wistron suspended operations at its plant in the city early this month after three Taiwanese employees tested positive for COVID-19.
Pegatron has been pushing to finish construction of its first production line in Chennai by the end of next month, but due to the spread of the virus it would be challenging to complete the work on schedule to roll out iPhone Xs, the sources said.
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