Foxconn unit sees limited impact from suspended China plant

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Operations at a unit of Taiwan-based Apple Inc supplier Foxconn in China’s Kunshan city remain suspended because of COVID-19 controls but there is limited impact as it has shifted production elsewhere, it said on Monday.

The operations in Kunshan of Foxconn Interconnect Technology, which makes data transmission equipment and connectors, will remain closed until the authorities give permission to restart, it said.

“As production has previously been deployed to backup factories, the factory’s main products are located in overseas shipping warehouse and inventory levels are still sufficient, the impact on the company’s business is limited,” Foxconn said in a statement.

A source familiar with the situation said the plant is not a major supplier for Apple products and the company was able to shift production to other facilities.

“We do not see an impact on iPhones,” the person said.

China has put Shanghai under a tight lockdown since late March and neighbouring Kunshan has also tightened curbs to control the country’s biggest COVID-19 outbreak since the coronavirus was discovered in late 2019 in the city of Wuhan.

That had caused dozens of Taiwanese firms, many making parts for the semiconductor and electronics industries, to suspend operations.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee; Additional reporting by Rhea Binoy in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Robert Birsel)