After Tesla’s 22-day production halt at Gigafactory Shanghai, the automaker had its employees sleeping on floors in a closed-loop output system created to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
As it ramps up to add another shift, Tesla is isolating thousands of its Giga Shanghai workers in an old military camp and unused factories in China, according to Fortune.
The move will help Tesla establish the largest yet closed-loop output format it has had, using the old military camp and old factories to have employees quarantine for 48 to 72 hours before gaining access to the factory.
The city of Shanghai has also provided shuttles to bring employees to and from the Gigafactory and the campsites.
Those familiar also explained that the closed-loop system might require workers to share beds at the makeshift camps, with nighttime workers occupying beds during the day and vice versa. Mobile toilets and showers will be brought to the makeshift camps near Giga Shanghai for these new workers.
While Tesla still may take another week to reach full production capacity, due to the staggered return of employees and parts shortages, the automaker has had employees working 12-hour shifts, six days a week and sleeping in the factory to bring back substantial production.
Sources say it might take at least later this week to bring back production to max capacity, since workers will be coming back in groups and not all at the same time. Also, Tesla’s supply chain of parts remains “patchy”, added these unnamed sources.
A report earlier this week also said that Tesla was looking to reach pre-lockdown levels of production as soon as Tuesday.
