Taiwan chip packager King Yuan to halt output after COVID cases at factory (updated)

KING YUAN ELECTRONICS

04/06/2021 08:56

(Recasts, adds detail)
    TAIPEI, June 4 (Reuters) - Major Taiwanese chip packager
King Yuan Electronics  2449.TW  said on Friday it will halt
production on the island for two days after several employees
contracted COVID-19, the first time the pandemic has hit the
global chip hub, as case numbers climb.
    The rare uptick in infections in tech heavyweight Taiwan,
which has been model for how to control the pandemic, has
triggered worries that a further outbreak could exacerbate a
chip supply crunch that has hit global industries from auto to
electronics. 
    Hsinchu-based King Yuan, one of the island's major chip
packaging and testing firms, counts global tech giants including
Intel  INTC.O  and Samsung Electronics  005930.KS  among its
biggest clients. 
    Starting Friday evening, King Yuan will halt production at
factories across Taiwan for 48 hours for disinfection, the
company said in a stock exchange filing. 
    King Yuan said it expected the halt to hit 4% to 6% of its
output in June and will impact up to 6% of its revenue this
month, adding it saw no significant impact to its business this
year. 
    Sixty-seven employees mostly from the Philippines and
working at a King Yuan factory in the northern city of Miaoli
tested positive, Taiwan's health ministry said, adding it was
planning to test more than 7,000 people there. 
    To stop outbreaks from spreading into other tech companies, 
Taiwan government has set up an emergency response team in
Miaoli as well as rapid test stations in the major science park
in Hsinchu.
    Taiwan reported 472 new domestic COVID-19 cases on Friday,
including 133 cases added to the totals for recent days as it
continues to readjust its infection numbers following delays in
reporting positive tests.
    That was down from the 583 domestic infections reported on
Thursday.
    Taiwan has now reported 10,446 cases since the pandemic
began, including 187 deaths.

 (Reporting by Yimou Lee, Roger Tung and Ben Blanchard; Editing
by Hugh Lawson and Kim Coghill)
 ((yimou.lee@thomsonreuters.com; +886-2-8729-5122;))