Factory Run by Foxconn Placed Under Total COVID Lockdown in China

Duncan DeAeth, reporting for The Taiwan News:

Chinese authorities in Zhengzhou on Wednesday (Nov. 2) placed the world’s largest iPhone assembly site, run by Taiwan’s Foxconn, on lockdown in response to a local COVID outbreak.

The move to quarantine the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone follows reports that employees have been fleeing to escape the restrictive environment over the past few days. Placing the factory under a “static management” policy, a euphemism for total lockdown, also comes a day after reports that Foxconn plans to decrease production at the facility over the coming months.

Reuters:

China ordered an industrial park that houses an iPhone factory belonging to Foxconn to enter a seven-day lockdown on Wednesday, in a move set to intensify pressure on the Apple supplier as it scrambles to quell worker discontent at the base. The Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone in central China said it would impose “silent management” measures with immediate effect, including barring all residents from going out and only allowing approved vehicles on roads within that area.

I don’t have much to say about this other than that it feels like a situation worth keeping an eye on.

★ Wednesday, 2 November 2022