China closes down Foxconn iPhone factory

China has closed the area around the main factory of Foxconn, Apple’s biggest iPhone supplier, in Zhengzhou for seven days as COVID-19 cases surge. China has ordered the area around Foxconn Technology Group’s main factory in Zhengzhou to be locked down for seven days, a move that will severely curb shipments to the world’s largest iPhone factory. The local government said in a statement on its WeChat account that the curfew will last until Nov. 9. The sudden action reflects Beijing’s Zero-Covid approach to stamping out outbreaks and is likely to further cripple Foxconn’s main base of operations. The Taiwanese company, whose parent company is Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., is grappling with a COVID outbreak that has forced some of its 200,000 workers into quarantine and others to flee the facility on foot. The company is scrambling to mitigate potential disruptions, raise wages and secure support from other Chinese factories if assembly lines in Zhengzhou are grounded. In recent days, there has also been a struggle to quell speculation on social media that some infected staff had died.