The company’s slump in production is primarily due to the pandemic impact on its employees and overall impact on manufacturing in India.
Tamil Nadu where the Foxconn manufacturing facility is located is reeling under the second wave of Covid-19. The state government officials also imposed a full lockdown in the state from Monday.
Entry ban
According to sources, more than 100 Foxconn employees in the state have tested positive for Covid-19 and the company has enforced a no-entry ban at its factory in the capital of Chennai until late May.
“Employees are only allowed to leave but not to enter the facility since yesterday. Only a small part of output is being kept,” states a source.
While more than 50% of the plant’s capacity had been cut, the company did not specify the plant’s capacity and it was unclear how many workers were at the facility, which provides dormitory accommodation for employees.
Taipei-based Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker and a major supplier to Apple, said a small number of employees at one of its facilities in India tested positive for Covid-19 and the company was providing them with support, including medical assistance.
Specific staffing
Foxconn declined to comment on factory output or specific staffing levels. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
India has benefited from Apple’s move to shift some areas of production from China to other markets as it navigates a trade war between Washington and Beijing, with Apple announcing in March it had started the assembly of the iPhone 12 in India.
While Apple’s share of the budget phone-dominated India market is small, CEO Tim Cook said in January that India business doubled in the December quarter compared to the previous year, helped by an online store launch.
Foxconn similarly said strong smartphone sales contributed to a stronger-than-expected performance in the fourth quarter amid the work-from-home trend.
Market research firm Canalys said that growth in India extended through the first quarter, with Apple shipping more than a million iPhones.
Demand for the iPhone 12 was supported by local assembly and attractive finance offers, Canalys said.
This article first appeared in the NFA Post and is republished with permission