World’s largest latex glove maker closes factories after thousands of COVID-19 cases

The biggest rubber glove maker in the world said it was shutting down some of its factories after a coronavirus outbreak among its workers.

Malaysia’s Top Glove Corp said in a statement deliveries of rubber gloves could be delayed up to a month.

“To minimise the impact on our customers, we are allocating sales orders to unaffected factories and rescheduling deliveries where possible,” the company wrote.

Thousands of workers have tested positive and Malaysia said it was closing 28 factory buildings in phases and quarantining employees in Klang, west of Kuala Lumpur, Reuters reported. The company previously said it shut down 16 buildings and reduced capacities in 12.

Top Glove Corp has around 16,000 factory workers and 47 factories in Malaysia, China, Thailand and Vietnam, with markets in North America and Europe, according to the publication.

Top Glove also said the company is expecting a 3% impact on annual sales, according to the statement.

This story was originally published November 24, 2020 at 12:10 PM with the headline "World’s largest latex glove maker closes factories after thousands of COVID-19 cases."