Samsung to temporarily shut down smartphone factory in India over COVID-19 outbreak

Samsung has announced that it will temporarily shut down its smartphone factory in India due to concerns related to the COVID-19 outbreak. The company took the decision following the Indian government’s requests to help contain the virus.

The company will shut down its smartphone manufacturing facility, which is located in Noida in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The factory, which was inaugurated in 2018, will be closed from March 23 to 25. It is the South Korean firm’s largest smartphone factory in the world and produces over 120 million smartphones every year. The company has also directed its employees in the marketing, R&D, and sales teams to work from home.

According to the latest reports, India has over 425 active cases of Coronavirus and eight deaths as of now. A Samsung spokesperson told ZDNet, “Following the Indian government’s policy, we will temporarily halt operations of our Noida factory until the 25th. We will work hard to make sure there is no setback in supplying our products.”

The company had closed its smartphone plant in Gumi earlier this month after it had discovered that some of the workers contracted COVID-19. Samsung then decided to shift smartphone production to Vietnam temporarily. The South Korean electronics giant had also closed its stores in China and the US due to the pandemic.

Apart from Samsung, smartphone brands LG, OPPO, and Vivo have decided to keep their factories and operations in India closed to help contain the novel virus and keep their employees safe. Samsung is expecting smartphone revenues to fall as the world struggles to contain the virus.