Samsung closes its largest smartphone factory after India pleas for anti-pandemic measures

The world slowly moves toward a global lockdown as the viral wave spreads. Even though there are no new cases in China, apart from those coming back to the country from abroad, Europe is now close to the peak of the pandemic and in the US this peak is yet to come. Many businesses closed their physical stores and shifted to a home office work schedule, and now Samsung is shutting down its biggest smartphone factory in the world, ZDNet reports.

The shutdown of the Noida plant in India will be temporary and comes after the Indian government asked for help in battling the spread of the disease. The factory in Uttar Pradesh produces more than 120 million phones annually and will be closed between March 23 and 25. Earlier this month Samsung closed its plant in Gumi, South Korea, after some of the workers tested positive for COVID-19 and shifted smartphone production to Vietnam.

“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.”, an official Samsung spokesperson told ZDNet.

India is still in the early stages of the pandemic with only 425 confirmed cases to this moment. The government plans to take preventive measures in order to slow down the spread of the disease and make the necessary preparations. LG, Oppo, and Vivo have also responded to the request and closed their operations in India. Тhis will surely impact expected revenues across the industry.