iPhone Production in India Stops in the Face of Fierce Weather
BENGALURU: Taiwan’s Foxconn and Pegatron have halted Apple iPhone production at their factories near Chennai in southern India due to heavy rains, four sources close to the matter said on Monday.
Heavy rains battered the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu state, a major electronics and manufacturing hub, and floodwaters swept away cars and closed its airport as Cyclone Michaung headed down the coast to neighboring Andhra Pradesh.
Foxconn, which employs about 35,000 people at its iPhone factory in Tamil Nadu, has not yet decided whether to resume production on Tuesday, the two sources said.
Foxconn has rapidly expanded its presence in India by investing in production facilities in the southern parts of the country as Apple plans to move some production out of China.
Apple recorded its highest-ever quarterly shipments from India in late September at over 2.5 million units, data from market analytics firm Counterpoint Research showed.
Apple declined to comment. Foxconn and Pegatron did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
This is the second time in recent months that Pegatron has been forced to close its factory after temporarily suspending assembly of iPhones following a fire in September.
