Apple supplier Foxconn said it would resume normal production in China by the end of the month and that more than half its seasonal workforce in the country restarted work following the coronavirus outbreak.
The Taiwanese firm, which assembles Apple’s iPhones, said it was unable to predict the virus’ impact on its full-year results.
“Prevention of outbreak, resumption of work and production are our top priority,” Chairman Liu Young-Way told an online investor conference on Tuesday.
Foxconn is among manufacturers who are grappling with virus-related curbs that have upended supply chains and hurt demand, Reuters reported.
Apple, Foxconn’s top client, rescinded its March quarter sales guidance due to a slower-than-expected ramp up of manufacturing sites in China amid travel restrictions and an extended Lunar New Year break.
Foxconn, the world No. 1 contract manufacturer, said late last month that it had started cautiously restarting production at its main plants in China but that the epidemic would take a toll on its revenue for the year.
The warning from Foxconn, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry, is likely to cloud Apple’s timeline for new iPhones. Foxconn tends to handle the introduction of new iPhones as its capabilities are the most advanced, supply chain experts say, but the timeline is under threat given the travel curbs.
