Tesla is resuming operations at its vast Shanghai factory, as the 25-million-strong metropolis prepares to relax lockdown restrictions following a large COVID outbreak.
The factory will reopen in a “closed-loop system,” according to a Bloomberg News article citing internal business memos, a strategy advocated by Shanghai authorities to get people back into the job while sustaining the country’s zero-covid goals. Under the city’s current COVID laws, this essentially means that no one goes in or out: staff will reside and work inside the plant, with the first “shift” arriving earlier this week and scheduled to stay until May 1st.
THE SHANGHAI FACTORY IS TESLA’S LARGEST
According to the Telsa memo cited by Bloomberg, each worker will be provided with a sleeping bag and mattresses, with designated areas for sleeping, showering, eating, and relaxation. Each employee will receive three free meals a day and a daily stipend of around 400 yuan ($63). Only workers who have received two vaccination doses will be allowed to enter the factory, and each will take daily nucleic acid tests for the first three days back.
In addition to COVID restrictions, Bloomberg says Tesla is also increasing working hours to try and claw back the roughly 40,000 cars it’s missed producing since the factory shut down on March 28th. Employees will apparently not only live and dine at the plant, but will also work six days in a row for 12 hours.
Tesla is expected to provide further information about the plant’s closure and reopening later today.