Video footage shared (below) shows hundreds of MacBook Pro workers breaking COVID barriers with the intention of keeping them inside a Chinese plant. Some can be seen fighting with the guards wearing white protective gear.
The Quanta Computer-owned plant is operating under strict lockdown conditions, which go well beyond the “closed-loop” production system used at many facilities that make Apple products.
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While most countries accept that we have to learn to live with COVID-19, the Chinese government believes it is possible to completely eliminate the infection from the country. Even after getting a few cases in a city, he is enforcing a strict lockdown.
This week, Zhengzhou – called the iPhone City because it is the largest iPhone plant in the world – went into lockdown.
To avoid shutdown of production plants, “closed-loop” production processes are permitted. This is where workers live in on-site dormitories, with none of them allowed to enter or leave the facility for a month or more at a time. Apple was hoping that this approach might be able to protect production of the iPhone 14 by recruiting workers before they are needed, but that plan has now been suspended.
Quanta’s iPhone plant in Shanghai operates a closed-loop system.
MacBook Pro workers break down COVID barriers
of Taiwan economic daily There are reports that hundreds of MacBook Pro workers climbed over the odds with the intention of keeping them within the plant. This happened after workers on leave were denied permission to return to their dormitories to rest.
bloomberg describes it as a major challenge to the Chinese government’s control policy.
Hundreds of workers at a technology factory in China clashed with officials and flooded past isolation barriers after weeks under lockdown, a surprise break in the Communist Party’s efforts to contain Covid-19 infections.
The Shanghai factory, which is owned by Taiwan’s Quanta Computer Inc. and manufactures equipment for Apple Inc., has been operating under tight restrictions since early April. In a video shared on Twitter and YouTube, workers ran through barriers and clashed with guards in white protective gear, who tried to keep them inside.
Quanta employees confirmed the clash took place on Thursday evening, while the company did not immediately comment. An activist said that people are worried about further tightening as there are positive Covid cases on the premises. Another employee said the government was playing a central role in managing the operation of the plant.
Shanghai’s population – which is under some of the most severe and permanent lockdowns – is becoming increasingly frustrated over containment policy, but it is rare to see such a direct rebellion in the country, with harsh punishments for those who defy government orders. Known for. ,
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5I pic.twitter.com/3GpeBjHqG3(@RFA_Chinese) 6 May 2022
MacBook Pro likely to be delayed further
While the main concern here is certainly for workers, it is likely to be bad news for those awaiting MacBook Pro delivery as well.
economic daily Quanta’s plant is operating at about 30% capacity due to the disruption, and doesn’t expect to achieve better than 50% even when things calm down.
This is likely to prolong the delay for MacBook Pro orders, which have already been going on for several months. Just yesterday, we noted that some readers have been emailed by Apple about the delay in orders returned in February. Some have been told that their machines will not be shipped until July, some five months after the order was placed.
Any increase in this delay could see customers waiting half a year for their MacBook Pro models to arrive.
The incident is likely to increase the pressure on the Chinese government to reconsider its COVID control policies.
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