Vietnam orders Foxconn, Luxshare to close factories over COVID outbreak

Apple suppliers Foxconn and Luxshare have been forced to shut down their factories in northern Vietnam, following a coronavirus increase in the region.

Fears of an increase in COVID outbreaks has already caused supply chain firms in Taiwan to expect MacBook Pro constraints. Now the government in Vietnam has ordered two of Apple's major suppliers to close down because of a coronavirus surge.

According to Bloomberg, the Vietnamese government has told both Foxconn and Luxshare to shut down. The companies are now reportedly beginning to suspend operations to comply.

"They are implementing our request to temporarily close down entire factories," Le Anh Duong, chairman of the People's Committee of Bac Giang Province, told Bloomberg. "[We will] send health officials in to help them reorganize to be able to quickly resume operations and restrain the virus' spread at the same time."

"We hope to resume operations of these factories in two weeks to limit disruptions to the global supply chain," he continued.

The order covers plants in four industrial parks — Van Trung, Quang Chau, Dinh Tram and Song Khe-Noi Hoang. Foxconn and Luxshare both have facilities in the Van Trung and Quang Chau parks.

Luxshare has yet to comment publicly on the closures, but Foxconn has issued a statement saying it is complying. "[However, we] can confirm that there is minimal impact to our operations in Vietnam," said a spokesperson.

Separately, an increased COVID-19 outbreak is affecting Foxconn's India factories, as well as those of fellow Apple supplier Wistron.

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