Oliver Haslam on March 16, 2022, 9:29 pm

Foxconn’s Shenzhen Facilities Are Open Again Despite COVID-19 Measures

Yesterday saw the news that Foxconn, a key iPhone assembler for Apple, had to close its Shenzhen facilities due to local COVID-19 restrictions. Now, a new report suggests that things are back up and running — at least partially.

A new Reuters report says that some production is already up and running thanks to the switch to a “closed-loop management system” that allows people to continue to work despite local lockdown restrictions.

Those restrictions have been put into place because of a growing number of positive COVID-19 tests in the area.

“Some operations have been able to restart and some production is being carried out,” Foxconn said in a statement, adding that the system at its Shenzhen facilities subjected employees living there to the required health measures.

“This process, which can only be done on campuses that include both employee housing and production facilities, adheres to strict industry guidelines and close-loop management policies issued by the Shenzhen government,” it added.

Analysts had previously said that the closure of the Foxconn facilities would only have a limited impact on Apple, something that will surely be the case now that manufacturing is back online.

There were initial concerns that supplies of Apple’s recently announced iPhone SE, iPad Air, and Mac Studio could be affected by yesterday’s news.