Covid Outbreak at Taiwan Factory May Worsen Chip Shortage
- King Yuan is one of the world’s largest chip-testing companies
- Customers have been struggling to get enough chips this year
Source: Getty Images
A cluster of Covid-19 infections at a factory in central Taiwan temporarily stopped operations at one of the world’s largest chip-testing companies, the latest sign of potential disruption to a technology supply chain already struggling from component shortages.
King Yuan Electronics Co. shut down its main plants in Miaoli County over the weekend and reported 182 confirmed cases as of June 5, according to Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control. Most of those are among its foreign workers, including the factory floor staff. The government placed all 2,000 of its overseas workers, around 30% of its workforce, into 14-day quarantine, and the company has turned to temporary local workers to get its production lines running again.