Workers at Tesla's Shanghai factory will reportedly be forced to stay at their workplace after hours due to the recent Covid -19 lockdown in China. The company will distribute sleeping bags and mattresses to its employees, who will be forced to sleep on the floor while operating in a so-called "closed-loop" system.
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Tesla is one of many manufacturers in Shanghai preparing to resume operations after the government imposed a lockdown on the populous city on March 28. However, multinational companies are putting pressure on the government to ease its restrictions so they can return to production, even if that means their workers cannot leave facilities .
The company sent a memo to its employees detailing some of the conditions they will be forced to live in. Tesla is reportedly handing out a sleeping bag and mattress to each employee, there will be designated areas on the floor for sleeping, as well as areas for showers, catering, and entertainment. Workers will receive three meals a day and a $63 allowance.
Tesla will also follow regulations to prevent the spread of Covid-19, requiring employees to be tested once a day for the first three days, have their temperatures checked twice a day, and wash their hands four times a day.
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Companies wishing to resume operations in Shanghai must submit detailed plans on how they will stop the spread of Covid-19 in their workplaces before they are given the green light.
Tesla reportedly began operating on a closed-loop system on Monday, and workers are scheduled to continue living at the factory until May 1.
Three people have died from Covid-19 in Shanghai during the latest outbreak of the virus, with tens of thousands of cases reported daily, the city said on Monday. While the numbers are relatively low compared to the initial outbreak of the pandemic, which has infected about 1.55 million in China, authorities are taking aggressive measures to stop the spread as part of the country's zero-tolerance approach to the virus.
However, Shanghai is home to thousands of local and international companies that have been negatively affected by the recent restrictions, resorting to extreme measures in order to maintain their operations. Shortly after the lockdown, the Wall Street Journal reported several cases of employees being asked to sleep in offices at a number of banks and other financial institutions in Shanghai.
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Tesla's Shanghai factory is producing just under 2,000 cars a day, meaning it has lost about 40,000 units since the lockdown began. However, the company hopes to make up for lost time with its new measures, forcing employees to work 12-hour days, six days a week.
