Samsung to Shift Some Smartphone Production to Vietnam Due to Coronavirus
Samsung Electronics said on Friday that it would temporarily move some smartphone production to Vietnam from South Korea after another of its Korean staff tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing it to close a factory.
A company spokeswoman said the group had suspended operations at its factory in the southern city of Gumi in South Korea after a worker tested positive for the virus.
The plant, which makes Samsung’s premium smartphones like the Galaxy S20 and the Z Flip foldable handset, will resume production on Saturday, she said.
Since late February, a total of six workers have tested positive at the factory complex in Gumi, close to the city of Daegu – the epicentre of South Korea’s novel coronavirus outbreak – leading to previous temporary closures at the plant.
The move to shift output of “some premium smartphones” to Vietnam “intends to supply products to consumers in more effective, stable and timely manner”, Samsung said in a statement.
“Once the Covid-19 situation stabilises, we plan to move back the output to Gumi,” the company said.
Samsung has already shifted much of its smartphone production to Vietnam over the past decade, where it makes more than 50 per cent of its mobile phones and has so far seen little production disruption. Its Gumi factory makes up for a small portion of its total output.
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January 10, 2020 5:34 amBy Neha Mule
Neha writes articles on sectors including medicine, food, materials, and science & technology. A qualified statistician, she has the ability to observe and analyze the trends in global markets and write compelling articles that help CXOs in decision making. She is a bookworm and loves to read fiction, lifestyle, science and technology. Neha comes with 6 years of experience in content writing and editing that involves blog writing, preparation of study materials and OERs.