GLOBAL CHIP SHORTAGE POSSIBLE DUE TO LOCKDOWN

Two of the world’s largest microchip manufacturers have warned that there might be a worldwide shortage due to a lockdown in the Chinese city of Xi’an.

Reports indicate that Xi’an’s lockdown is far more restricted than Wuhan’s lockdown ever was, the city where the COVID-19 virus was first detected.

The lockdown has caused both Samsung and Micron to halt their operations in the industrial city located in Shaanxi province.

CNN reports that Xi’an has reported 1 117 total cases in the last outbreak. It rolled out city-wide testing and placed its 13 million residents under a strict lockdown last week.

Under the lockdown, schools, public venues and transportation have been closed. Xi’an’s lockdown is the largest since Wuhan went into lockdown where 11 million people were forced to be sealed off from the rest of the country.

On Wednesday, Samsung said in a statement that it had to “temporarily adjust operations” in the city. The electronics company said that protecting its workers in the city remains its top priority and that it plans to take all necessary measures, including leveraging its global manufacturing network, to ensure that its customers are not affected.

Image credit: Venture Beat