Chip tester and packager Greatek Electronics Inc’s (超豐電子) shares tumbled more than 3 percent yesterday, as it said it expected output to drop by about 10 percent this month because it has shut some production lines to test all employees for COVID-19 after reporting eight confirmed cases.
A Philippine worker contracted COVID-19 on Tuesday last week, and eight other migrant workers — the first worker’s roommates — were confirmed to have the virus the next day, the firm said in a statement.
Greatek was one of five electronics companies in Miaoli County’s Jhunan Township (竹南) that reported COVID-19 infections among migrant workers.
Photo: Tsai Cheng-min, Taipei Times
To prevent the virus from spreading, Greatek decided to test all of its 4,264 employees, including Taiwanese employees, and test 208 high-risk workers using polymerase chain reaction tests, it said.
It took three days through Monday to complete the tests, resulting in the partial shutdown of production lines, the company said, adding that four more employees tested positive for COVID-19.
“The company has suspended production partially due to the rapid screening tests. The workforce has been reduced as some employees were isolated,” the statement said. “That will cut output by about 10 percent in June.”
The company aims to boost production and enhance operational efficiency to recover the output loss later this year after the COVID-19 outbreak is brought under control, it said.
Shares of Greatek dropped 3.13 percent to NT$71.2 yesterday, underperforming the TAIEX’s loss of 0.64 percent.
To prevent further infections among migrant workers from crippling production of local technology firms and to protect people living in the surrounding areas, the Ministry of Science and Technology has launched rapid screening test centers at the nation’s three major science parks.
Two new rapid screening test centers were yesterday launched at the Southern Taiwan Science Park’s (南部科學園區) two campuses in Tainan and Kaohsiung.
The rapid screening test centers can so far test a combined 1,000 people a day, the Southern Taiwan Science Park Administration said in a statement yesterday.
Firms at the Southern Taiwan Science Park employ 7,865 blue-collar migrant workers and 160 foreign employees in managerial positions, the administration said.
Rapid screening test centers were launched at the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) and the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區) on Sunday and Tuesday respectively.
Networking equipment maker Accton Technology Corp (智邦科技) is to test more than 1,740 employees from Jhunan Township, the company said in a statement.
As of Tuesday, 13 of its employees had tested positive for COVID-19, Accton said.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
MARKET LEADERSHIP: Investors are flocking to Nvidia, drawn by the company’s long-term fundamntals, dominant position in the AI sector, and pricing and margin power Two years after Nvidia Corp made history by becoming the first chipmaker to achieve a US$1 trillion market capitalization, an even more remarkable milestone is within its grasp: becoming the first company to reach US$4 trillion. After the emergence of China’s DeepSeek (深度求索) sent the stock plunging earlier this year and stoked concerns that outlays on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure were set to slow, Nvidia shares have rallied back to a record. The company’s biggest customers remain full steam ahead on spending, much of which is flowing to its computing systems. Microsoft Corp, Meta Platforms Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc are
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
The US overtaking China as Taiwan’s top export destination could boost industrial development and wage growth, given the US is a high-income economy, an economist said yesterday. However, Taiwan still needs to diversify its export markets due to the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump’s administration, said Chiou Jiunn-rong (邱俊榮), an economics professor at National Central University. Taiwan’s exports soared to a record US$51.74 billion last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products and continued orders, with information and communication technology (ICT) and audio/video products leading all sectors. The US reclaimed its position as Taiwan’s top export market, accounting for