Tesla suspends production at the Shanghai plant

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Tesla suspended production at its Shanghai factory on Saturday, according to an internal notice and two people familiar with the matter, filing an earlier plan to halt most work at the factory in the last week of December. .

The people and the notice seen by Reuters said the US automaker has canceled the morning shift and told all workers at its most productive manufacturing center they can start their break. The company did not give a reason.

Reuters reported earlier this month that the electric car giant planned to suspend Model Y production at the factory from December 25 to January 1.

The suspension comes amid a rising wave of infections after China eased its coronavirus policy earlier this month, a surprise move that was welcomed by businesses and the public but which has severely hampered business operations in the short term.

One person said workers at Tesla and its suppliers have also fallen ill as part of this wave, which has posed challenges for operations in the past week.

Tesla is also grappling with rising inventory levels as its second-largest market prepares for a downturn.

The person added that the Shanghai factory has focused on making models for export for the past week.

A media representative for Tesla China did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters reports that the plant’s suspension of Model Y assembly at the end of the month will be part of a planned production cut of about 30% per month for the Model, Tesla’s best-selling model, at the Shanghai plant.

The Shanghai plant, Elon Musk’s most important manufacturing center for electric vehicles, maintained normal operations during the last week of December last year.

It was not established practice for the mill to be closed for the year-end holidays.

(Reporting by Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh) Editing by Andrew Cawthorne

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