Cyclone Forces Foxconn, Pegatron to Shut India iPhone Factories

Taiwan’s Foxconn and Pegatron were forced to pause their iPhone production lines in southern India on Monday as Cyclone Michaung swept down the coast.

Heavy rains lashed the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu state, a major electronics and manufacturing hub, with floodwaters sweeping away cars and shutting its airport as the cyclone headed towards the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh.

Foxconn, which employs about 35,000 people at its Tamil Nadu iPhone factory, had yet to decide whether to resume production on Tuesday, two sources said.

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Foxconn has rapidly expanded its presence in India by investing in manufacturing locations in the south of the country as Apple looks to shift some production away from China.

Apple recorded its highest ever quarterly shipments from India in the quarter ending September at more than 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 shut its factory, having temporarily halted assembly of iPhones after a fire in September.

Reuters with additional editing by Sean O’Meara

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Sean O'Meara

Sean O'Meara is an Editor at Asia Financial. He has been a newspaper man for more than 30 years, working at local, regional and national titles in the UK as a writer, sub-editor, page designer and print editor. A football, cricket and rugby fan, he has a particular interest in sports finance.