Apple and Samsung suppliers in Vietnam asked thousands of workers to stay in factories. This is done to minimize the spread of COVID-19 which is feared to disrupt production.
A report from Bloomberg said 150,000 workers in the industrial areas of Bac Ninh and Bac Giang in northern Vietnam were asked to stay in factory areas to reduce the risk of infection. Several Apple and Samsung suppliers have factories in this area.
In addition, in the commercial area of Ho Chi Minh City, 22 companies with 25,000 employees have also set up special areas where employees can spend the night, as quoted from 9to5March, Wednesday (7/7/2021).
Furthermore, the report said thousands of workers slept in beds with bamboo mats and tents set up in the cement-floored halls of the factory buildings. All employees who come to the office from home must be quarantined until they test negative.
In addition to providing shelter, the Vietnamese government is also trying to provide vaccines for factory workers. Around 400,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered to workers at Samsung's supplier factory and other factories in Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces.
Bloomberg also said that while Vietnam was initially successful in dealing with the outbreak, the number of COVID-19 cases in the country began to rise in late April.
Because of the surge in COVID-19 cases, industrial areas in northern Vietnam were temporarily closed, including factories used by Foxconn and Luxshare, the main designer of iPhones and AirPods.
In an official statement, Foxconn said that it is working with the Vietnamese government to ensure they can meet all relevant public health requirements.
It is interesting to see that the policies of Apple and its suppliers regarding employee well-being are interconnected. When workers at supplier factories can't go home and spend the night, Apple employees don't want to go back to the office and prefer to work from home.
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NEWS & FACT