Last month, Apple confirmed that the company has started production of its latest smartphone, the iPhone 12, in India at Foxconn’s Tamil Nadu plant. But not everything is going as per the plan.
A new report from Reuters claims that the production of iPhone 12 in India has dropped by more than 50 percent because of the COVID-19. The report, citing two sources aware of the matter, says that workers infected with COVID-19 have had to leave their posts, resulting in a drop in production.
It is claimed that more than 100 Foxconn employees 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. A person aware of the matter said: “Employees are only allowed to leave but not to enter the facility since yesterday. Only a small part of the output is being kept.”
The sources claim that more than 50 percent of the plant’s capacity had been cut but they did not specify the plant’s capacity and it was unclear how many workers were at the facility, which also provides dormitory accommodation for employees.
In a statement to Reuters, Foxconn said: “Foxconn places the health and safety of our employees as our highest priority and that is why we have been working closely with local government and public health authorities in India to address the challenges that we and all companies are facing in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.”
Tamil Nadu, the state where the production plant is located, is also one of the worst-hit regions in the second wave of coronavirus in India. To curb the spread, the government has imposed a full lockdown from this week. The Foxconn facility in Tamil Nadu produces iPhones specifically for the Indian market — the world’s second-largest smartphone market.
It’s noteworthy that Foxconn isn’t the only producer affected by the coronavirus. Nokia and OPPO had also suspended production at factories in India after some workers had tested positive for COVID-19.
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