Samsung Vietnam factory cuts production of mobile phones again, smartphone exports drop before Christmas

According to foreign media reports, Samsung cut its smartphone production in Vietnam for the second time this year in November, ahead of the Christmas sales season.

In recent years, most Samsung smartphones are made in Vietnam. Last year, Samsung phones made in Vietnam accounted for 60% of the company's total production capacity. This year, the goal is to produce half of Samsung's smartphones in Vietnam. At present, according to people familiar with the matter, the proportion of smartphone production at the Samsung factory in Vietnam will continue to fall from 50% to 40% next year.

It is not clear whether this is a sign of a general production cut by Samsung or a shift in manufacturing.

It is reported that Samsung has invested about $18 billion in Vietnam and has six factories, two of which focus on the manufacture of smartphones.

According to the National Bureau of Comprehensive Statistics, smartphone production in Vietnam fell 9.3 per cent to 20.6 million units in November from a year earlier, while consumer electronics manufacturing fell nearly 20 per cent in November from a year earlier, with monthly output falling for the third month in a row. In addition, total exports fell 8.4 per cent in November from a year earlier to $29.18 billion due to the headwinds of the global economic slowdown.

As early as the first half of this year, Samsung began to scale back production at its Vietnam plant as a result of the epidemic, and although Christmas was approaching, workers were allowed to take seasonal holidays compared with previous years, according to employees.

It is said that between October and November, Samsung plans to produce only 34 million smartphones, a huge drop from the same period in previous years.