A new wave of Covid-19 has been hitting China for a few weeks. To enforce its zero covid policy, the country forced businesses to close their doors. After a week of closure, Reuters reports that the many factories in Shenzhen have therefore just resumed service. To the delight of customers.
In Shenzhen, factories return to normal production rates
All eyes were on the Foxconn factories in Shenzhen. The company employs approximately 200,000 people in this region of China and the slightest stoppage puts a worrying brake on business production that depend on these factories. This is the case of Apple, Samsung, DJI or Oppo. Foxconn announced in a press release that it has resumed operations. The company said it had “returned to a normal production rate” in its factories in Longhua and Guanlan.
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Foxconn management clarified in its statement that it plans to implement an epidemic prevention and control policy. A spokesperson adds that “some staff will live and work in a bubble for several months”. This is the price to pay according to the chinese milling, to continue to ensure production and avoid aggravating the current shortages. For now, employees in Futian, a district of Shenzhen, are still being asked to work from home.
No major consequences for Apple
With each new closure in China, the whole world trembles. Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, said that “if it lasts, this new confinement in China will have economic repercussions”. Apple is also worried. This time it was probably too short for the American giant to see the consequences. Indeed, the shutdown of Shenzhen is unlikely to have a significant impact on iPhone production. The majority of iPhone production orchestrated by Foxconn is in Zhengzhou, Henan province.
The reopening comes just over a week after the company announced it was suspending operations in the city after a spike of 60 new infections was reported. China’s zero covid strategy requires companies to adhere to this protocol. From very strict containment measures are taken and tests are carried out en masse to try to contain the virus. China reported its first two deaths from Covid-19 last weekend. There hadn’t been one for over a year.