Workers locked in Volkswagen Group‘s Shanghai factory are getting movie nights and scheduled exercise to keep them entertained after production was idled by the city’s prolonged lockdown.
While several dozen employees initially volunteered to sleep at the plant to keep it running on a so-called closed-loop system, those plans were eventually abandoned as the worsening COVID-19 outbreak saw the lockdown extended. With no way to return home, the workers are still on site.
To keep them occupied, the company has arranged group activities, starting with a walk around the factory at 10 a.m. local time, according to a screenshot of the schedule seen by Bloomberg News.
That is followed by lunch and rest from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., movie time and cards in the afternoon, and cardio training at 4 p.m.
The next two hours are taken up by dinner and showers, followed by movie night. The company has even organized voluntary garbage collecting.
All staff are required to take a rapid COVID test each morning.
A spokesperson for VW in China didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Automakers have been hard hit by China’s stringent Covid Zero policy.
Tesla’s Shanghai factory has been closed since March 28, and VW’s venture with FAW Group in Jilin province remains offline.
The lockdowns are estimated to cost automakers about 20 percent in lost production, Cui Dongshu, the secretary general of China’s Passenger Car Association, said earlier this week, noting not only manufacturers but also suppliers and dealers have been severely disrupted.
