Intel Halts Employee Travel to China Due to Coronavirus

Intel is not letting employees take trips to China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Italy or business-related reasons, it disclosed Wednesday. 

The travel suspension took effect on Tuesday, OregonLive reported, speculating that it could lead to disruption of the company’s operations. The measure is due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has also impacted other semiconductor companies. 

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The chipmaker is not recalling workers, but advised returning employees to avoid company sites for two weeks, with special attention to those with medical symptoms.

Intel described its travel suspension as a “precautionary measure.”

“Our top priority is the safety and well-being of our employees," it said in a statement. "We have not recalled workers, but we’re monitoring the situation closely and working to ensure that our employees in China and elsewhere have the information and resources they need to stay safe.”

Intel has important operational activities in China., most notably an assembly and test facility, as well as its $5.5 billion Dalian fab for 3D NAND (and soon 3D XPoint) production. China accounted for 28% of the company’s revenue in 2019.