Major electronics factories in eastern China’s Kunshan halt production amid new waves of COVID-19

A view of the city of Kunshan in east China’s Jiangsu Province Photo: VCG

Several printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturers in Kunshan, east China’s Jiangsu Province, have suspended production as local anti-epidemic policies require the whole city to suspend all non-essential activities in order to curb the spread of recent outbreaks of COVID-19.

Experts noted that the suspension could affect global electronics industry supply chains in the short term.

On Tuesday, Kunshan posted a notice on his Wechat account, saying that due to sporadic outbreaks, all businesses except utility companies are expected to reduce production or telecommute under fully closed management from June 6 to April 8.

Two days later, the city said that given recent waves of coronavirus cases spreading through agricultural trade markets, the government decided to extend the suspension date from April 8 to April 12.

On Sunday, more than six electronics suppliers in Kunshan announced suspensions in accordance with local policies or adopted closed-loop personnel management.

AUO Solar said Friday that the company will suspend production from April 8 to 12 and deploy inventory to reduce the impact on customers during the period.

Storage giant EMC said the same day that its subsidiary in the city would extend the temporary shutdown until April 12 and resume operations pending government approval.

Apple supplier Unimicron Technology Corp also issued a notice on Wednesday saying that its two subsidiaries in Kunshan have extended the suspension from April 6 to April 8.

Experts noted that the suspension may affect the global electronics industry chain in the short term, as Kunshan is an important industrial hub for Taiwanese technology companies, which are major PCB suppliers for European and American electronics companies.

“As part of the country’s logistics network has been impacted by the epidemic, the transportation of raw materials will be disrupted, affecting the shipment of electronic products,” Xiang Ligang, general manager of the Alliance for Security, told the Global Times. Beijing-based news consumer. on Sunday.

Ma Jihua, a veteran tech industry analyst, noted that the suspension would extend the delivery time of products to overseas companies, which could affect global electronics supply chains in the short term.

However, Ma added that since the start of the epidemic, a large number of companies have improved their countermeasures and strengthened storage, so there will not be much impact on global electronics production in the long term. .

Xiang also said many enterprises have adopted closed-loop production, not only to guarantee production, but also to strengthen regulations on epidemic prevention and control.