Shanghai Tesla workers are reportedly sleeping at the factory

Workers at Shanghai’s Tesla factory are sleeping indoors as the Chinese metropolis begins to ease austerity measures aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19. Bloomberg reported Monday.

In an effort to launch the production line after a very restrictive three-week blockade, Tesla is reportedly deploying a “closed-loop system” designed to prevent workers from mixing with other people, thus protecting them from possible contamination.

The closed system, where workers live in a bubble to protect themselves from the outside world, has been encouraged by Shanghai officials to allow factories in the city to resume production after austerity measures.

Workers at Shanghai’s Tesla plant, which makes the Model 3 and Model Y, were given a sleeping bag and a mattress, according to a note for workers seen by Bloomberg.

The report notes that because the plant lacks proper dormitories, such as dormitories, workers will have to sleep on the floor in the designated area. While catering facilities are already available for workers, others for showers and entertainment are being set up.

The note said that to return to the Shanghai Tesla factory, workers must have been vaccinated twice. Upon arrival at the site on specially organized shuttle buses, workers will take daily COVID tests for the first three days, with regular temperature checks and frequent hand washing also being part of the new routine.

Employees at the factory are asked to work 12 hours a day six days in a row with one day off, while before stopping work in March they worked four days in a row with the next two days off.

Unusual working conditions will continue until May 1, but this may change depending on the situation with COVID-19 around this time.

The Tesla plant in Shanghai produced just over 2,000 electric vehicles daily, and Bloomberg noted that after such a long shutdown, the plant would take time to return to full capacity.

Along with other factories in Shanghai, Tesla was forced to close its facility for a few weeks in early 2020 when the pandemic began.

Looking ahead, Tesla’s operations depend heavily on the number of infected COVIDs not only among its workforce but in the city as a whole, with the Chinese government and government apparently seeking to adhere to its strict zero-COVID policy.

Editorial recommendations