Foxconn suspends iPhone factories in Shenzhen amid lockdown of China’s southern tech hub

Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Group has suspended operations at its factories in Shenzhen, without a specific timeline for resumption, after the city announced a lockdown to battle a surge of Omicron cases.

The lockdown in Shenzhen, China’s tech hub in southern Guangdong province, is the latest example of how the nation's zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19 is translating into supply chain disruptions, while most other countries are learning to live with the virus.

“Due to our diversified production sites in China, we have adjusted the production line to minimise the potential impact,” a spokesman for Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Technology Group, said in a statement.

The suspension of the Shenzhen plant’s operation began on Monday “in compliance with the local government’s new Covid-19 policy”, and the resumption date will depend on the local government, according to the company.

Foxconn has required all employees to take Covid-19 tests, along with other measures to ensure their health and safety, the spokesman added. The Shenzhen campuses in Guanlan and Longhua are important production bases for Foxconn, which employs about 200,000 people in total at the two locations.

An office worker from Foxconn’s Longhua campus told the Post that management asked all staff to stay at home during the three-day suspension.

“Only employees who receive approval can come back to the office,” said the worker, who lives off campus. “We’re waiting for the company’s policy on pay and attendance during the suspension.”