Foxconn’s november revenue fell 11% after Covid outbreak at iPhone factory

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Workers protest at Foxconn iPhone plant in China

Hundreds of workers joined protests at Foxconn’s iPhone factory in China (Video: AP.)

Foxconn Technology Group‘s November revenue dropped 11% from a year earlier after shipments from Zhengzhou, China, the world’s biggest iPhone assembly site, were affected by a Covid-19 outbreak, the company said Monday.

Foxconn’s November revenue fell to 551.1 billion new Taiwan dollars, equivalent to $18 billion, from NT$621.7 billion a year earlier.

Since October, Foxconn has been scrambling to contain a Covid outbreak at its Zhengzhou site in China, a sprawling facility where it employs more than 200,000 workers. The site has continued to operate under a system in which workers stay on-site and contact with the outside world is limited to a minimum.

In this photo provided Nov 23, 2022, security personnel in protective clothing attack a man during protest at the factory compound operated by Foxconn Technology Group who runs the world’s biggest Apple iPhone factory in Zhengzhou in central China’s (AP Photo / AP Newsroom)

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FOXCONN PLANS TO REOPEN WORLD’S LARGEST IPHONE FACTORY AMID CHINA COVID PROTESTS

In recent weeks, thousands, if not more, workers fled the site partly as they feared catching Covid. In early November, Apple Inc. said shipments of its high-end iPhone models would be lower than expected because of the disruptions—the Zhengzhou site at one point made about 85% of the Pro lineup of iPhones, according to market-research firm Counterpoint Research.

Then in late November, violent protests broke out at the factory. Both Foxconn and some workers said the violence was related to pay concerns.

ZHENGZHOU, CHINA – NOVEMBER 06: A staff member wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) disinfects a factory at Industrial Park of Foxconn on November 6, 2022 in Zhengzhou, Henan Province of China. The Foxconn plant offers accommodation and regula (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images / Getty Images)

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On Monday, Foxconn said in its monthly revenue report that the epidemic situation is under control. "We are making every effort to protect the rights and interests of employees, so that current employees and new hires receive the best care," it said.

Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. also said it is gradually moving toward "the direction of restoring production capacity to normal." It is recruiting new employees and reallocating production capacity among factories, it added.

ZHENGZHOU, CHINA – NOVEMBER 03: An employee collects daily necessities and anti-epidemic supplies from a service point of Foxconn on November 3, 2022 in Zhengzhou, Henan Province of China. The Foxconn plant offers accommodation and regular healthcare (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images / Getty Images)

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In recent weeks, Apple has told suppliers to more actively plan on increasing production outside China, particularly India and Vietnam, and is looking to reduce dependence on Foxconn and other Taiwanese assemblers, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

—Yoko Kubota contributed to this article.

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