Due to the threat to people's lives due to the spread of coronavirus in Asia ( Global corporations are suspending operations in China and advising their foreign employees not to visit the country. Many are being asked to work from home or have extended holidays for the Lunar New Year.
Google has temporarily closed all of its offices in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan and stopped its employees from traveling there. While workers already in the designated countries were advised to leave as soon as possible and then work from home for at least two weeks. Google has not said how many employees work in mainland China, but the company has four offices there. Although Google's search engine is not available in China, its offices handle sales and design for its advertising business.
Other tech giants, including Amazon and Microsoft, have also announced similar measures in response to the spread of the deadly virus. βOut of an abundance of caution, we are restricting business travel to and from China until further notice and encourage our employees to follow health and safety guidelines provided by international health organizations,β an Amazon spokesperson said.
This week, Facebook became the first major US company to notify staff to avoid travel to China. As we have already reported, the Chinese government operation of Foxconn and Samsung factories located in the manufacturing center of Suzhou. Expected disruptions to Apple's supply chains are already company stock price. But first of all, due to the spread of coronavirus, entertainment events are canceled. For example, Blizzard Overwatch League matches in China.
Meanwhile, General Motors is the latest major automaker to announce it will extend production shutdowns for the Lunar New Year. The American company clarified that its Chinese factories will be closed until February 9. Toyota also said Wednesday that its China operations will remain closed until Feb. 9. The Japanese automaker explained that this is in line with transport restrictions imposed by Chinese authorities and assessments of its own supply chains. French automobile group PSA, which owns the Peugeot and Citroen brands, as well as Japanese Honda and Nissan, announced plans to evacuate employees and their families from China.
Several other international auto companies operating in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, have previously said they are taking action to bring foreign employees home. Wuhan is the seventh largest city in China and a major engine manufacturing center.
Source: 3dnews.ru