Coronavirus outbreak is seriously affecting several countries around the world. However, it seems that China has everything under control, and several companies are resuming their activities. Foxconn has already started working on the production of Apple devices in its plants in mainland China and Vietnam.
Foxconn’s founder Terry Gou has recently told South China Morning Post that Foxconn factories are reopening faster than expected. He says they have exceeded expectations, even though there was no mention of what the expectations were. Unfortunately, the company’s revenue dropped by more than $1.6B because of factory closures and the need to send their employees home to prevent coronavirus infections.
Gou told reporters in Taipei that the return to work effort at Foxconn’s factories in China had “exceeded our expectations and imagination”, and that supplies to its plants there and in Vietnam had returned to normal.
Gou, however, warned about weak consumer demand […] “In the United States, what we are worried about is the market,” he said. “If production was resumed quickly but consumers stop spending … that would be key to the economic recovery” […]
Gou said he has “concerns” over the electronics supply chain in Japan and South Korea, which are grappling with their own serious outbreaks of the coronavirus. He also cited rising prices for dynamic random-access memory chips and supply issues with display panels.
These closures will most likely cause a significant delay to the iPhone 9 manufacturing, and maybe its launch won’t be as soon as we would like. The positive note is that China is apparently getting everything back to normal after the outbreak.
Source BGR