Following a three-week shutdown that began at the end of March, Giga Shanghai is poised to resume vehicle production. To accomplish this, Tesla China is adopting a closed-loop system, which would involve the company temporarily housing its workers in the Giga Shanghai complex.
Gigafactory Shanghai has been serving an increasingly large part of Tesla’s operations. Last year, the facility effectively produced about half of the vehicles that the company delivered worldwide. It is pertinent for Tesla to ensure that Giga Shanghai could return to operations as quickly as possible, as every day the facility is paused results in lost production.
Fortunately, Tesla China appears to have a clear-cut plan to ensure that its workers are safe as it resumes operations at Giga Shanghai. As per individuals familiar with the matter and a memo retrieved and viewed by Bloomberg, Tesla China would be adopting a closed-loop system in Gigafactory Shanghai. This means that the company would be boarding its workers to ensure that the facility remains operational.
According to the publication’s sources, each worker at Gigafactory Shanghai would be provided a sleeping bag, a mattress, and three meals a day. Workers would be sleeping on the factory floor in a designated area for now, though spaces for showering and entertainment are coming. Tesla would also be giving its workers a daily stipend of about 400 yuan (about $63), though the exact amount will be dependent on a person’s position in the company.
Tesla has reportedly informed employees on Friday to prepare for a closed-loop system this week. To help employees bypass restrictions on residential compounds in Shanghai, Tesla China reportedly issued a special certificate for workers who were on call. The company also arranged buses to shuttle workers to the facility. It should be noted that only Tesla China staff who were residing in the lowest-risk residential compounds in Shanghai and those who have completed two shots of the Covid vaccine would be allowed to resume work.
The memo retrieved by Bloomberg noted that these workers would be joining about 400 employees who are already in the Giga Shanghai facility. The last batch of closed-loop workers at Gigafactory Shanghai is expected to work in the facility through May 1, though this is subject to changes depending on the city’s Covid restrictions. The workers who would be temporarily living in Giga Shanghai would reportedly be working 12 hours per day, six days straight, with one day off.
Prior to the current shutdown, Giga Shanghai was operating 24/7 using three shifts of workers. Factory workers would typically work four days on and then take two days off, according to individuals familiar with the matter. While Gigafactory Shanghai would be resuming production, however, ramping the facility back to its previous output levels would likely take some time.
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