Apple Followed by Google Closing China Office... 'China Exodus' Begins in Earnest

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] As the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) rapidly spreads, global companies such as Google are consecutively closing their offices in China. International airlines are also suspending flights to China one after another, and charter flights dispatched by various countries to repatriate their nationals are gathering, marking the full-scale start of the "China Exodus." Charter flights dispatched from countries including South Korea and the United Kingdom are experiencing some delays in departure due to slow coordination of takeoff permissions with the Chinese government.

According to CNBC and others, on the 29th (local time), Google announced that it decided to temporarily close its offices in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Google operates four offices in China, one in Hong Kong, and five in Taiwan. Google decided to temporarily close the offices following an increase in confirmed cases to eight in Taiwan and in accordance with the local government's recommendation for cooperation in quarantine measures. Earlier, Apple also closed one of its directly operated stores in China and suspended operations of component suppliers located in Wuhan, Hubei Province. Facebook banned employees from business trips to China and instructed employees working in China or who recently traveled there on business to work from home.

Global franchise companies are also closing their stores simultaneously. Starbucks announced that more than half of its 4,100 stores in China have suspended operations, and McDonald's, KFC, and Pizza Hut have closed most stores in the Hubei Province area. IKEA also stated that half of its 30 stores located in China will temporarily close in response to the Chinese government's call to control the spread of the disease. Uniqlo has suspended operations at about 100 stores in China.

International airlines are continuing to cancel flights to China. German Lufthansa decided to suspend all flights to and from China until the 9th of next month. American Airlines canceled flights on the routes between Los Angeles and Shanghai and Beijing from the 9th of next month until March 27. Earlier, United Airlines also announced it would temporarily suspend flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong from the 1st to the 8th of next month.

Charter flights dispatched by various countries to repatriate their nationals staying in Wuhan are gathering in China one after another. However, departures are delayed due to slow takeoff permissions from Chinese authorities. On this day, charter flights dispatched by the South Korean and British governments are departing later than scheduled. According to the BBC, Chinese authorities are reportedly not granting exit permits to British nationals who also hold Chinese citizenship among those staying in Wuhan.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.