‘Nightmare’ for global tech: Coronavirus fallout just beginning

Apple and Foxconn, known also as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, were among the first corporations to try and quantify the viral epidemic’s impact. — Reuters

As Chinese-based manufacturers begin to restart factories on Feb 10, no one knows for sure when they’ll be back at full-speed – or what sort of chaos may ensue.

Tech producers led by Foxconn, which makes the majority of the world’s iPhones from Zhengzhou a few hundred miles from the coronavirus outbreak’s epicentre, had begun preparing investors for the potential bedlam when hundreds of thousands make their way back to factories. Apple Inc’s most important partner warned investors of the daunting task of securing enough workers despite widespread transport blockades, quarantining thousands, and the "nightmare” scenario of an on-campus epidemic that could shut down production altogether. Last week, it took the unprecedented step of warning workers to stay away from its Shenzhen headquarters till further notice as government inspectors vet its containment procedures, Bloomberg News reported.