BENGALURU (Reuters) -Taiwan’s Foxconn and Pegatron have halted production of Apple iPhones at their factories near Chennai in southern India because of heavy rains, sources close to the matter said on Monday.
In Tamil Nadu capital Chennai, the state’s largest city and a major electronics and manufacturing hub, at least two people died and the runway of one of country’s busiest airports was submerged after torrential rain as the city braced for a severe cyclone expected to hit in the next 24 hours.
Foxconn, which employs about 35,000 people at its Tamil Nadu iPhone factory, has yet to decide whether to resume production on Tuesday, the sources said.
Foxconn has rapidly expanded its presence in India by investing in manufacturing locations in the south of the country.
Apple declined to comment and Foxconn and Pegatron did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
This is the second time in recent months that Pegatron has been forced to shut its factory, having temporarily halted assembly of iPhones after a fire in September.
(Reporting by Munsif Vengattil and Praveen ParamasivamWriting by Indranil Sarkar in BengaluruEditing by Toby Chopra and David Goodman)
