Foxconn says it will meet all manufacturing obligations following the outbreak of the coronavirus in China, Reuters reports, even after the most recent Apple results point out uncertainty due to the disease.
“We do not comment on our specific production practices, but we can confirm that we have measures in place to ensure that we can continue to meet all global manufacturing obligations,” a Foxconn statement reads.
So far the coronavirus has killed 132 people and affected nearly 6000 people in China and, in order to contain spread of the virus, the Chinese government has extended New Year holidays by three days to 2 February. It has also to lead countries advising against all but necessary travel to China, forced food chains to close stores, airlines to cancel flights and, as mentioned earlier, Apple giving shareholders a wider-than-normal earnings outlook for the March quarter.
Foxconn has a big facility in Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus outbreak. A city of 10 million people in Hubei province, Wuhan has been in lockdown since 23 January, with public transport suspended and factories and offices closed. Fifteen other Chinese cities have similar restrictions in place, affecting any number of factories. For instance, according to Blocks & Files many companies, including Intel, Micron, Samsung, SK Hynix, Seagate and Western Digital, have memory and storage factories in the areas affected by the coronavirus.
Meanwhile Taiwan's TSMC, the largest contract chipmaker in the world, tells Reuters the virus has not affected operations. The company has factories in Shanghai and Nanjing, and has staff who have visited Hubei in the last 14 days to stay at home and monitor their health.
Go Foxconn Says Plans in Place to Meet Production Obligations After Virus Outbreak
Go Coronavirus Outbreak: Which NAND and Disk Suppliers are at Risk? (Blocks & Files)
