An area in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, home to the world’s largest iPhone production, has been quarantined due to the country’s strict coronavirus restrictions.
The lockdown began on Wednesday and is scheduled to remain for one week.
The action may affect the production of the new iPhone 14, which is manufactured in the city by Foxconn.
The Chinese populace and economy continue to struggle with President Xi Jinping’s zero-Covid policy.
Local authorities announced on Wednesday that the lockdown of the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone will begin immediately and expire on November 9 at noon local time.
According to a warning posted on the social media site WeChat, public transportation services have been suspended and people are encouraged to work from home.
Officials stated that they would “strictly enforce all infractions of regulations.”
Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province in central China, is home to over 10 million individuals.
It reported 167 locally transmitted infections in the week leading up to last Saturday, an increase from the previous week’s tally of 97.
The lockout occurs at a pivotal time for Apple, just after the release of the iPhone 14 and before the crucial holiday and lunar new year purchasing seasons.
Foxconn’s Zhengzhou facility, which employs over 200,000 people, manufactures the majority of Apple’s new phones.
Foxconn announced on Tuesday that it has increased daily bonuses at the production hub following an escape by employees during a Covid lockdown.
Daily bonuses for assembly line employees will increase to 400 yuan ($55.02; £47.76).
Foxconn also announced that factory employees who worked more than 25 days per month would receive a maximum incentive of 5,000 yuan, up from 1,500 yuan.
Those who put forth their “full effort” in November without taking any time off could receive a bonus of almost 15,000 yuan for the month.
The corporation stated that the bonuses were intended to “gradually reestablish orderly production” and to “reward our colleagues’ perseverance.”
It has not yet issued an official tally of the number of people afflicted at the factory by the coronavirus.
Foxconn announced last Wednesday that a “limited number of employees” in Zhengzhou were “hit by the pandemic” and were receiving “material supplies, psychological comfort, and appropriate feedback.”
“Currently, the epidemic prevention effort in Zhengzhou is advancing slowly, and the group’s influence is manageable. The prognosis for this quarter’s operations has not changed “it added.
However, footage uploaded on Chinese social media revealed that workers were allegedly filmed fleeing the premises and beginning long journeys back to their hometowns to escape being caught by public transportation.
Xia, a 22-year-old worker, told the Financial Times that the dormitories where he and his coworkers were being held were “complete mayhem.”
Workers reportedly stated that the region surrounding the company had been isolated for days, with Covid-positive employees being tested daily to limit the outbreak.
Foxconn announced on Sunday that it would no longer force plant employees to consume meals in their rooms “to increase the convenience and satisfaction of employee life.”
The company stated that it was collaborating with the local authorities to establish a “point-to-point orderly return service” for employees who desired to return home.
It is unclear how employees will be able to return home now that the district has been secured.
In recent days, several enterprises in China have been affected by coronavirus outbreaks.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Nio reported that two of its factories in the eastern city of Hefei had ceased operations.
The company announced this week that it delivered over 10,000 vehicles in October.
It stated that the numbers were hampered by “operational issues in our operations and supply chain volatility due to the Covid-19 situation in specific locations of China.”
