A roundup of the coronavirus outbreak's impact on the tech sector, from closures of offices, stores, and factories in China to affecting MWC attendance
The outbreak shows that what impacts China impacts everything — The tech sector is currently feeling the impact of the coronavirus …
It also extends a familiar pattern: as Tech in Asia documented after China's 2015 stock market drop, what hits China's economy transmits directly into tech company results — this time through physical operations rather than financial markets.
First-order effects
Chinese factory, office, and store closures immediately disrupt hardware production and retail for companies whose supply chains run through the country.
MWC attendance collapses as major exhibitors withdraw, gutting the value of one of the industry's biggest launch and dealmaking venues.
Second-order effects
By early March the disruption broadens into cancelled conferences, supply chain and sales shortfalls, and a murky outlook for online travel firms, while videoconferencing tools like Zoom pick up displaced demand.
Event organizers and exhibitors face pressure to replace physical launches with digital alternatives, shifting marketing spend away from trade-show formats.
Labor effects split along size lines: by May, hiring booms at some large Chinese tech firms while smaller online companies cut jobs and freeze recruiting, widening an internal divide in the sector.
The trend: Tech's dependence on concentrated Chinese manufacturing and dense physical-event calendars turns regional health shocks into global supply, sales, and labor disruptions.
The coronavirus shutdown in China won't just affect manufacturing production now — it could create cascading delays that affect the holiday season, as @@kifleswing explains here, and some analysts expect the impact to hit Apple's next iPhones. https://www.cnbc.com/...
Some people are suggesting to postpone #MWC but I struggle to believe that is an option considering the financial investment it would entail canceling and rebooking travel, venues...
Nvidia becomes the fourth exhibitor to partially or fully drop out of MWC 2020, following Ericsson, LG, and ZTE. #MWC2020 https://www.theverge.com/... via @Verge
Wow first LG, then Ericsson and now Nvidia. How many more companies are going to pull out of this show before it's all said and done? #MWC20 https://twitter.com/...
“The (global) tech sector is currently feeling the impact of the coronavirus, with companies closing offices, stores, and factories in China as well as restricting employees from nonessential travels to the country.” https://www.theverge.com/...
Facebook stopped accepting new orders for Oculus Quest this week, and expects an impact by the Coronavirus on production of the standalone headset. https://uploadvr.com/... https://twitter.com/...
IMO the only thing that could get MWC cancelled at this point is protests in the city of Barcelona related to coronavirus. No sign of any public unrest at this time, and WHO is reporting a decline in case growth in China. I think it's gonna be fine, Ericsson et al or not.
#MWC20 is still going ahead, but Ericsson will be missed, says GSMA. Like it or not, #coronavirus will be a main topic of conversation there. Which makes me wonder what the Spanish government is thinking? Stricter arrival controls will add more problems. https://www.gsma.com/...
Further evidence that China isn't returning to work on Feb 10. Top iPhone maker Foxconn told by Beijing to keep close its huge factories — or else | #CoronaVirus #OOTT #commodities via @NAR https://asia.nikkei.com/... https://twitter.com/...
New: Apple extending store closures in China due to coronavirus. This could last until Feb 15 at some stores. Corporate offices still opening week of Feb. 10. “Our first priority is the well-being of our teams, supplier partners and customers,” Apple says. https://www.bloomberg.c…