Foxconn Technology Group, the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer and Apple's prime supplier, has halted production at two of its factories in the eastern city of Kunshan, putting further strain on the US technology giant's supply chain in China.
Operations have been suspended since Wednesday last week after new Covid-19 cases were reported at the two plants, where employees are confined to dormitories inside those campuses, according to two workers at the affected factories, who declined to be named because they are not authorised to speak to media.
The affected Foxconn plants, located at Dianfa and Fuhong in the northern part of Kunshan, are two of four manufacturing campuses operated in the city by the Taiwanese firm, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry. Located in the eastern coastal province of Jiangsu, Kunshan is home to many factories run by Taiwan-based electronics companies.
The sudden halt of operations at the two Foxconn plants last week came after Kunshan authorities were expected to ease travel restrictions and allow manufacturing activities to resume in the city.
Earlier last week, the local government gave the go-ahead to an initial batch of 60 companies to reopen their production facilities. Kunshan, with a population of 2.1 million, started a citywide lockdown earlier this month to contain the spread of the Omicron variant and counter possible spillover from Shanghai, which has been battling its worst Covid-19 outbreak.
