Japan-based Renesas Electronics has resumed production at its chip plant in Beijing after a suspension caused by the rising COVID cases. However, whether or not the semiconductor manufacturer has restarted full production at the site remains to be discovered.
According to Reuters and Nikkei, the Beijing plant had been halted since the evening of December 16. The suspension was expected to last for several days. On December 19, Renesas said it will resume production the next day, allowing those in close contact with confirmed cases to return to work if tested negative.
The reports did not mention whether the company has fully resumed the whole production at the plant. Renesas had said the halt did not impact the delivery significantly because inventories at the factory and distributors remain solid.
The company is a well-known automotive semiconductor manufacturer. The Beijing plant focuses on the back-end process.
According to media reports, Renesas owns plants in Beijing and Suzhou, which supplies Japanese and many other car factories. A slight disruption in the supply of chips and other components could burden automakers.
Toyota Motor said it has experienced component shortages due to the pandemic. It has lowered production capacity in some of its plants in China.
COVID cases in Beijing and Shanghai are surging as China loosens the zero-COVID policy. It will likely create a ripple effect on production bases owned by foreign countries.
