Tesla has suspended production at its Gigafactory in Shanghai for two days amid China’s largest COVID-19 outbreak in two years — reports Reuters.
The news comes from a notice Tesla sent out to employees and suppliers, which was seen by the publication, informing them that production would be halted for Wednesday and Thursday.
Gigafactory Shanghai produces electric vehicles (EVs) not only for the Chinese market but also for export to Europe and other parts of Asia. Giga Shanghai produced 59,845 units in January, and 56,515 cars in February.
Two people briefed on the notice said they understood it applied to Tesla’s general assembly lines, but it is unclear what the stoppage means for other operations at the Gigafactory.
Many cities across China, including Shanghai and the southern manufacturing hub of Shenzhen (which alone produces 11% of China’s exports), have been enforcing strict movement controls to curb the COVID-19 outbreak. The measures have forced factories to shut down, straining global supply chains.
In Shanghai, authorities have asked many residents not to leave their homes or workplaces for 48 hours to as long as 14 days as they conduct COVID tests or carry out contact tracing.
Tesla issued another notice to suppliers on Wednesday, also seen by Reuters, asking them for estimates of how many workers would be needed to maintain full production and to provide details of workers affected by COVID-19 restrictions.
In the notice, Tesla also asked suppliers to prepare workers to live, sleep, and eat at the factories in an arrangement similar to China’s “closed-loop management” process. Apple supplier Foxconn was allowed to restart some operations at its Shenzhen factory on Wednesday under the same arrangement.
