In March 2021, Apple confirmed starting its production unit for iPhone 12 in India at the Foxconn facility in Tamil Nadu.
Apple has two of its big global contract manufacturers operating in India. Before Foxconn, Taiwan’s Wistron had started iPhone assembly in India near Bengaluru in 2017 and it makes older models.
It has recently been reported that over 50% workers at the factory unit in Foxconn facility have been infected with COVID-19, as a result of which the production capacity in the unit has slashed by half.
Over 50% Factory Workers in Foxconn Facility Detected Covid Positive
The Foxconn plant in Chennai is Apple’s biggest manufacturing unit in India. It is known to have the capability to manufacture the top iPhone models.
Tamil Nadu is among the worst hit Covid-19 hotspots in India, in the second wave of pandemic.
According to the latest report by Reuters, over 50% workers at the Foxconn unit in Tamil Nadu have been tested Covid positive, cutting down the production capacity in the unit by 50%.
Two sources privy to the matter have informed that more than 100 employees working at the facility have test Covid-19 positive.
They added that the company has enforced a no-entry ban at its factory in the capital of Chennai until late May.
Employees now will only be allowed to leave but not to enter the facility, while over 50% of the plant’s capacity has been cut and it is currently the operating strength of the facility is unclear.
The factory unit provides dormitories for the employees working there to stay.
FOxconN stated, “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.”