Workers at a production workshop of Foxconn's technology park in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province on July 24, 2021. Photo: VCG

Apple's supplier Foxconn confirmed to the Global Times on Monday that its plants in Kunshan, East China's Jiangsu Province, remain suspended for local epidemic control requirements and production will not resume until further government notice. 

Foxconn said the impact on the company's business is "limited," as production has been shifted to other plants and the manufacturer also has enough inventories in overseas warehouses to supply the main products of the Kunshan plants. 

The Kunshan plants reportedly make data transmission equipment and connectors. Foxconn said it has simultaneously launched on-site anti-epidemic measures at the plant to ensure the safety and health of its employees. 

Foxconn was included in a list of 60 "epidemic-free enterprises" released by Kunshan authorities on April 19. Those companies could be given priority in applying for work resumption on the basis of closed-loop management. 

Kunshan, under the administration of the city of Suzhou, is an important production base for semiconductors and electronic items such as printed circuit boards (PCB), panels and notebook computer components. It is deeply intertwined in the supply chain in the Yangtze River Delta, which is composed of virus-hit Shanghai and cities in adjacency.

A source close to the matter told the Global Times on Monday that Foxconn's factories that manufacture its main products are still operating as usual. Foxconn confirmed to the Global Times earlier that its factory in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province, is operating normally despite local anti-epidemic measures and mass COVID-19 testing. The Zhengzhou plant is the world's largest iPhone factory, with more than 90 production lines and about 350,000 workers.

Analysts said that the disruption to the supply chain is temporary, and it won't disrupt the scheduled production of foreign companies, including Apple. 

Market observers expected Apple to increase its iPhone series shipments in the second quarter, buoyed by strong demand in the first quarter. According to South Korean media outlet The Elec, Apple will reportedly increase its second-quarter production plan by 10 million units from the original target. 

A number of tech firms in Kunshan have reportedly suspended production since mid-April amid local COVID-19 flare-ups. Kunshan is also a manufacturing base for a number of enterprises from the island of Taiwan, including Wistron Group, Unimicron and Pegatron Corp, some of which are main PCB providers for European and US electronics enterprises.

Global Times