Apple supplier halting production due to Omicron outbreak

Compal Electronics, a supplier to Dell and Amazon, is halting production at its factory in northern Taiwan for a week after several employees tested positive for COVID-19 as the latest wave of the omicron variant spreads in Taiwan, Report informs referring to Nikkei Asia.

The world's No. 2 contract notebook manufacturer said it will suspend manufacturing activities at its plant in Pingzhen in Taoyuan City -- one of Taiwan's key industrial hubs -- after three employees tested positive, according to a stock exchange filing on January 17 night.

The company said it has tested all of its 1,800 staff and suppliers who visited the plant recently. The weeklong production halt will impact full-year revenue by less than 0.1%, it noted. Compal generated 44.6 billion in revenue in 2021.

This is the first time in several months for a large tech manufacturer in Taiwan to halt production over COVID fears. The tech-reliant economy has seen a surge in infections over the past few weeks, with Taoyuan at the center of the latest wave.

Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer, told Nikkei Asia that it already stepped up its COVID prevention measures in Taoyuan from the first week of January, including suspending the movement of employees between different factories.