Foxconn factories must remain closed after February 10 due to coronavirus

According to the Japanese newspaper Nikkei, Chinese authorities have ruled that the Foxconn factories where the company makes iPhones cannot be reopened yet due to the corona virus. According to a Reuters source, this extended shutdown will cause iPhone shortages.

According to local authorities, the factories would pose “a high risk of spreading the virus” if they are put back into operation. This is due to ‘poor ventilation in the company restaurant and employee dormitories’, but later in the piece the presence of air conditioning is again seen as a risk factor, which seems to be a contradiction. In any case, central air conditioning is an important tool to keep the factory dust-free.

The prediction that a longer closure of Foxconn locations would have a “major impact” on iPhone inventories comes from a Reuters source with “direct knowledge of the facts.” The Nikkei piece gives the impression that Apple would suffer the most from the extended shutdown.

In addition to Apple devices, the factories also produce devices from Google, Amazon, HP, Dell and Huawei, Nikkei writes. It is not mentioned when the factory can open its doors again. Foxconn leaves that to the authorities. Flight tickets of Taiwanese Foxconn employees dating through February 14 have been canceled in any case.

Nikkei further writes that Compal, an iPad supplier that is 1600 kilometers away, is also keeping its doors closed due to the virus. Where work was supposed to resume on February 10, it is now February 17.