Chip tester and packager Greatek Electronics Inc’s (超豐電子) shares tumbled more than 3 percent yesterday, as it said it expected output to drop by about 10 percent this month because it has shut some production lines to test all employees for COVID-19 after reporting eight confirmed cases.
A Philippine worker contracted COVID-19 on Tuesday last week, and eight other migrant workers — the first worker’s roommates — were confirmed to have the virus the next day, the firm said in a statement.
Greatek was one of five electronics companies in Miaoli County’s Jhunan Township (竹南) that reported COVID-19 infections among migrant workers.
Photo: Tsai Cheng-min, Taipei Times
To prevent the virus from spreading, Greatek decided to test all of its 4,264 employees, including Taiwanese employees, and test 208 high-risk workers using polymerase chain reaction tests, it said.
It took three days through Monday to complete the tests, resulting in the partial shutdown of production lines, the company said, adding that four more employees tested positive for COVID-19.
“The company has suspended production partially due to the rapid screening tests. The workforce has been reduced as some employees were isolated,” the statement said. “That will cut output by about 10 percent in June.”
The company aims to boost production and enhance operational efficiency to recover the output loss later this year after the COVID-19 outbreak is brought under control, it said.
Shares of Greatek dropped 3.13 percent to NT$71.2 yesterday, underperforming the TAIEX’s loss of 0.64 percent.
To prevent further infections among migrant workers from crippling production of local technology firms and to protect people living in the surrounding areas, the Ministry of Science and Technology has launched rapid screening test centers at the nation’s three major science parks.
Two new rapid screening test centers were yesterday launched at the Southern Taiwan Science Park’s (南部科學園區) two campuses in Tainan and Kaohsiung.
The rapid screening test centers can so far test a combined 1,000 people a day, the Southern Taiwan Science Park Administration said in a statement yesterday.
Firms at the Southern Taiwan Science Park employ 7,865 blue-collar migrant workers and 160 foreign employees in managerial positions, the administration said.
Rapid screening test centers were launched at the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) and the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區) on Sunday and Tuesday respectively.
Networking equipment maker Accton Technology Corp (智邦科技) is to test more than 1,740 employees from Jhunan Township, the company said in a statement.
As of Tuesday, 13 of its employees had tested positive for COVID-19, Accton said.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
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