Cyclone Michaung: Foxconn, Pegatron halt iPhone production in Chennai

Taiwanese tech giants Foxconn and Pegatron on Monday (Dec 4) halted production of Apple iPhones at their facilitiesnear the south Indian city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, owing to the incessant rains in the region brought by Cyclone Michaung, according to a Reuters report.

The company is yet to take a call on whether to resume production on Tuesday (Dec 5). Foxconn employs as many as 35,000 people at its factory and the halt could have serious ramifications on the production of the iPhones.

This is the second time in recent months that Pegatron has had to bring shutters on production. In September, the Pegatron facility was shut for three days due to a fire accident.

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Multiple reports at the time claimed that the fire was sparked by a short-circuit after an electrical switch was left on, following testing of the devices as they were being put together.

The models being assembled at Pegatron are Apple iPhone 14 Plus and 15 Plus. Considering the average cost of these models is around $1000, the impact of not operating for a day means that $20 million worth of phones are not produced.

Cyclone Michaung

Cyclone Michaung which emerged from the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a cyclonic storm and is within touching distance of Chennai.

The extreme rainfall by Michaung has brought the city to a standstill. As of the last update, five were reported dead in rain-related incidents in the city.

According to the meteorological department, over the next 24 hours, the cyclone is expected to move towards the Andhra Pradesh coast.

Watch |India: Red alert in 10 districts, thousands evacuate as Cyclone Michaung nears

Dr Balachandran, head of theRegional Meteorological Centre (RMC), informed WION that15 locations have recorded heavy rainfall, 59 locations have recorded very heavy rainfall and 21 locations have witnessed extremely heavy rains.

Wind speeds near the Chennai airport clocked 88 kmph, while the wind speeds at the core city area clocked 71 kmph.

Rescue and evacuation operations are underway at multiple localities in Chennai and adjoining districts, with the civic authorities

(With inputs from agencies)