Image Source: Visual China

BEIJING, March 14 (TMTPOST) — Multinational electronics contract manufacturer Foxconn has suspended the operation of its plants in Shenzhen to comply with local pandemic control and prevention rules.

Foxconn’s plants in Longhua and Guanlan of Shenzhen City will suspend operation starting from Monday, according to the company’s announcement. The date of resumption of work will be updated once the company receives notification from local authorities. Foxconn said that it has other plants to take on some production demands from the plants in Shenzhen when necessary to lower the new development’s impact on the company’s operation.

At Foxconn’s plants, mass testing for all employees will be provided to ensure the welfare of the staff, said the company in the announcement.

Local authorities in Shenzhen have mandated that non-essential companies shall suspend the operation or require their staff to work from home during March 14-20. Local authorities in Shenzhen have also mandated that residents shall avoid moving around in the city unless it is necessary. Public transportation, including public buses and metro, has been suspended.

Foxconn has two manufacturing parks in Shenzhen——one in Longhua and one in Guanlan. Foxconn’s Longhua plant started production in June 1996. It is Foxconn’s operation center and global manufacturing headquarters in mainland China. It is also one of the earliest manufacturing plant clusters in mainland China. The Longhua plant covers an area of 2.3 square kilometers while the Guanlan plant takes up an area of 2.95 square meters. Besides factories, the two plants are equipped with staff dorms and canteens. At its peak, Foxconn’s Longhua plant had over 200,000 workers.

Foxconn’s Longhua plant and Guanlan plant both have production lines for the company’s IDPBG (Integrated Digital Product Business Group) business group, which primarily manufactures smartphones. The main product IDPBG is making is Apple’s iPhone. The two plants in Shenzhen also manufacture iPads and Mac computers for Apple.