Vietnam says Nike supplier halts output at 3 plants due to COVID-19 (updated)
15/07/2021 10:52
(Adds details, comments from Pou Chen, background)
HANOI, July 15 (Reuters) - Changshin Vietnam, a South
Korean-owned shoemaker and supplier to Nike NKE.N , has
suspended production at three of its factories near Ho Chi Minh
City due to a coronavirus outbreak, the government said on
Thursday.
The factories in Dong Nai province, which employ nearly
42,000 workers, will remain shut until July 20, the government
said in a statement, adding many of the 177 infections detected
in the province were workers from those factories.
Calls to Changsin's business number went unanswered on
Thursday.
Vietnam has until recently successfully contained its
coronavirus outbreaks, with limited disruption to its crucial
manufacturing sector, which produces garments, footwear and
electronics goods for some of the world's biggest brands.
The outbreak since late April has been more of a challenge,
however, with record cases on many days this month, most of
those in the commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City and its
neighbouring industrial provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Duong.
The outbreak prompted Taiwan's Pou Chen Corp 9904.TW ,
which makes footwear for companies like Nike and Adidas
ADSGn.DE , to suspend operations at its Ho Chi Minh City plant
from Wednesday. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2OQ0LK
Pou Chen told the Taipei stock exchange on Thursday that the
plant would be closed until July 23 for "health and safety
considerations", adding it did not expect a major financial
impact.
Eclat Textile Co., a Taiwan-based garment and fabric
supplier, has suspended production at its Dong Nai plant until
July 17, it told the Taipei stock exchange.
Vietnam has recorded 38,200 infections and 138 deaths
overall, the vast majority of those since May.
(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei and Joyce Lee
in Seoul; Editing by Ed Davies, Martin Petty)