Foxconn Ends Months-Long 'Closed Loop' at Largest iPhone Assembly Plant in China

Foxconn's facility in central Zhengzhou was in effective lockdown for 56 days after cases were detected in October.

In response to Beijing's widespread relaxation of zero-Covid laws, Taiwanese tech company Foxconn has stopped a months-long "closed loop" system at the largest iPhone manufacturing in the world in central China.

The Chinese government dramatically loosened three years' worth of restrictions earlier this week in order to speed up the return to regular living. These limitations had crippled the Chinese economy and worn out the populace.

Following the discovery of instances in October, the Foxconn facility in the heart of Zhengzhou was effectively placed under lockdown for 56 days, with employees only permitted to commute between their dorms and the factory floor via shuttle buses.

Intense protests by new hires over pay and working conditions broke out in the middle of November; hundreds marched and several engaged in physical altercations with riot police and medical personnel.

The business said Thursday that the closed loop system would be discontinued.

The company requires employees to present a 48-hour negative test result in order to return to work, according to a notice published on Thursday on the official WeChat account of Foxconn's main campus in Zhengzhou, Henan province. "Given the... further lifting of China's epidemic control measures," the notice read.

The business emphasised that its shuttle buses were back in operation and invited staff members who weren't a part of the closed loop to come in "as soon as feasible."

The "closed loop is lifted," according to other official WeChat accounts of entities that work with Foxconn, was also revealed.

The largest contract electronics manufacturer in the world, Foxconn is also known by its formal name, Hon Hai Precision Industry, and it assembles electrical devices  for many international brands.

The majority of its plants are in China, with the main one being in Zhengzhou, often known as "iPhone city."

Last month, the city was placed under lockdowns as part of Beijing's zero-Covid policy in response to an increase in infections.

Foxconn's employment procedures were severely disrupted, and the supply chain stability, to which Beijing pays great attention, was shaken by the protracted production shutdown and demonstrations.

The Wall Street Journal on Thursday cited persons familiar with the situation to suggest that a letter from Foxconn founder Terry Gou warning the Chinese leadership about the harm zero-Covid would cause to supply chains would aid government advisers in their case for ending the policy.

The reported monthly income for Foxconn decreased by 29 percent from October and by 11.4 percent from the prior year.

It previously stated that it was reducing its  outlook for the last quarter. Some analysts have predicted sales could drop as much as 20 percent.