Chinese auto workers confined to factories to combat COVID-19

A fresh wave of COVID-19 in China's sixth-largest province is forcing several large automotive companies to keep their workers on-site in a quarantine bubble.

Volkswagen, electronics manufacturer Foxconn and automotive supplier Bosch all have factories in Chengdu — the capital city of the Sichuan province — and have moved to a 'closed-loop' production plan to keep the factory operating despite strict lockdowns on the city's 21 million inhabitants.

Volvo, meanwhile, has suspended production of the S60 sedan and XC60 SUV at its Chengdu plant.

The closed-loop production system typically forces workers to either stay on-site at the company factory, or travel directly from home to the factory, avoiding contact with outsiders and taking regular COVID tests.

It's not the first time a quarantine bubble has been used to keep a car company operating, as earlier this year Tesla isolated thousands of workers in disused factories and an old military camp to keep them COVID-free during a similar two-month lockdown in Shanghai.

Some Tesla workers were even sleeping on factory floors during the lockdown in Shanghai.

The latest COVID-19 measures, reported by Automotive News Europe, apply to the 6000-worker Volkswagen plant which builds the Jetta and the Chinese-market Sagitar, as well as two Bosch manufacturing sites and a Foxconn component factory.

Foxconn is the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer – including assembly of Apple iPhones – and supplies a large group of companies in the USA, Canada, China, Finland and Japan.

Chengdu is the most heavily populated city to be locked down under China's strict 'COVID Zero' policy since Shanghai in March, and comes just as it was emerging from a two-week 'power crunch' that shut down business operations to give priority on electricity to households.

The 'closed loop' production system – with workers kept on-site – was originally developed from the plan used during the Winter Olympics in Beijing to isolate athletes and support staff from the general Chinese population.

There is no indication yet on when restrictions could ease or when the factories will return to normal production.

“Due to the lockdown in Chengdu, Volvo Cars is temporarily suspending production at a manufacturing plant there. We are assessing the impact on the business and we will continue to monitor the situation,” a company spokesman said in an official statement.

Chinese authorities have just extended COVID-19 restrictions in Chengdu and Shenzhen, according to the Financial Times, with 68 Chinese cities now in full or partial lockdown.