If you were wondering how things were going in China under recent COVID-19 lockdowns, it’s not good.
According to captured footage, hundreds of MacBook Pro workers broke through COVID barriers intended to keep them inside a Chinese plant. Some can be seen fighting with guards dressed in white protective coveralls.
The plant, owned by Quanta Computer, has been operating under strict lockdown conditions that go even further than the “closed-loop” production system used by many of Apple’s suppliers. The lockdowns, which help plants avoid having to shut down, have the 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 could enable it to protect iPhone 14 production by recruiting workers before they are needed, but this plan has now been suspended.
Quanta’s iPhone plant in Shanghai operates the closed-loop system.
According to Taiwan’s Economic Daily, hundreds of MacBook Pro workers climbed over barriers intended to keep them within the plant. It happened when workers on a break were denied permission to return to their dormitories to rest.
Bloomberg offered the following:
Hundreds of workers at a technology factory in China clashed with authorities and flooded past isolation barriers after weeks under lockdown, a stunning breakdown in the Communist Party’s efforts to contain Covid-19 infections.
The Shanghai factory, which is owned by Taiwan’s Quanta Computer Inc. and makes devices for Apple Inc. among others, has been operating under tight restrictions since the beginning of April. In a video shared on Twitter and YouTube, workers rushed through barriers and tangled with guards in white protective gear who tried to keep them inside.
Quanta employees confirmed the clash occurred Thursday evening, while the company did not immediately provide comment. One worker said that people are worried about further tightening because there are positive Covid cases on the campus. The government is taking a central role in managing the plant’s operations, said another employee on-site.
The population of Shanghai, which has endured some of the most sever and lasting COVID-19 lockdowns, has grown increasingly frustrated at the containment policies. Still, this marks a rare high water mark of direct rebellion against government regulations.
This could also likely prove to be bad news for MacBook Pro notebook assembly, shipment, and deliveries. In many cases, customers have been emailed by Apple informing them of delays to orders placed back in February. Some have been told that their machines won’t ship until July, some five months after the orders were placed.
Any increase to this delay could see customers waiting half a year for their MacBook Pro models to arrive.
The incident could lead to further pressure on both the workers as well as the Chinese government regarding its COVID-19 policies.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via 9to5Mac, Economic Daily, and Bloomberg