The COVID-19 outbreak is already taking its toll on the e-commerce and auto segment, disrupting deliveries and production in India. Now, in line with the local government’s orders, smartphone makers including Samsung, Vivo, Oppo and LG are taking necessary precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.
Samsung has decided to close its smartphone factory in Noida from March 23 to 25, which is just three days as opposed to the week-long city lockdown. This is the company’s largest factory and produces over 12 crore smartphone every year. Samsung has directed all other employees in the marketing, R&D, and sales department to work from home but some key critical services, such as customer service, will operate with limited staff.
“At Samsung, health and safety of our employees is our highest priority. As a measure to safeguard our employees and their families against Covid-19 and in compliance with directives from the Government, we have decided to currently suspend our manufacturing operations in Noida and have asked our employees at our sales, marketing and R&D offices across India to work from home,” said Mr Partha Ghosh, Head, Corporate Communications, Samsung India.
This is the third Samsung factory around the world to shut down temporarily due to the growing concern around COVID-19 outbreak. The company halted production at its South Korean factory earlier this month and moved it to Vietnam to avoid delays.
Apart from Samsung, its counterpart LG too is following state government orders to shut down its home appliance factories in Noida and Pune. Their operation will be halted until the end of the month, i.e 31st March, which is also when the week-long lockdown will come to an end in most cities.
Even Chinese phone makers Vivo and Oppo have halted smartphone production at their Greater Noida factories. They are currently in talks with the local government to discuss future plans and the economic impact of the lockdown. Ericsson and Nokia, on the other hand, are still carrying forward with their production goals at their Pune and Chennai factories.
