Samsung Eyes Smartphone Production In Vietnam Due To COVID-19 In South Korea

South Korean tech giant Samsung is currently planning to transfer some of its smartphone production to Vietnam. As of now, the country is still under the threat of the novel coronavirus outbreak. The outbreak has not only affected the public’s health but also many business operations worldwide.

Samsung has confirmed that it will move some of its production to Vietnam temporarily due to the coronavirus outbreak in South Korea, Reuters reported. A company spokesperson confirmed that the move was decided due to the suspension of operations in one of its factories just recently. One employee in Samsung’s Gumi plant was tested and confirmed positive for the virus.

The Gumi factory is known to be the site of production of some of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy S20 units. The factory is expected to resume operations this March 7.

However, Samsung is still planning to move the production of “some premium smartphones” to Vietnam. This move “intends to supply products to consumers in more effective, stable and timely manner,” according to the company. “Once the COVID-19 situation stabilises, we plan to move back the output to Gumi,” Samsung continued.

Vietnam has COVID-19 cases but has yet to balloon up in numbers, according to the report from the U.S. Embassy stationed in the country.

As of now, the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak has affected many businesses worldwide. Samsung, LG, Apple and even companies outside the tech industry are also finding ways to avoid the spread of the disease and putting in efforts to quarantine it if confirmed.

For now, many companies, like Samsung, will have to wait until the Coronavirus is contained and has been successfully treated.