New video out of China shows workers at a MacBook assembly plant in Shanghai fighting with security guards. The Quanta Computer employees have been forced to live at their workplace for weeks amidst COVID-19 lockdowns ordered by the Chinese government.
The workers apparently hoped to leave the facility to go shopping.
Quanta employees fight with security guards over COVID-19 lockdown
Quanta’s problems are Apple’s problems. Quanta is the sole assembler of high-end MacBooks, and a mid-March COVID-19 shutdown ordered by Chinese authorities brought the factory to a halt. Assembly has since resumed, but buyers of the 2021 MacBook Pro face lengthy wait times for delivery.
China’s intense COVID-19 restrictions continue to cause problems for other Apple products, too. Those ordering a Mac Studio might find themselves waiting until July.
“Hundreds of workers at a technology factory in China clashed with authorities and flooded past isolation barriers after weeks under lockdown,” Bloomberg reports.
Video of the Quanta employees jumping a gate and clashing with guards was posted on Twitter:
【疑不满「闭环生产」防疫太严】
【广达上海厂惊传员工「暴动」】
刚局部复工的上海广达子公司上海达丰电子周四（5日）晚发生员工「暴动」。影片所见，数百名年轻员工不听指挥，纷纷跳过门口闸门跑开，集体冲出封锁线与警卫发生冲突。据悉员工因不满疫情防控，欲外出购买民生物资。 pic.twitter.com/3GpeBjHqG3— 自由亚洲电台 (@RFA_Chinese) May 6, 2022
“It is reported that employees are dissatisfied with the epidemic prevention and control and want to go out to buy civilian materials,” the Twitter post says.
A result of China’s zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy
Shanghai’s 26 million residents are under strict lockdown as the Chinese government combats the spread of COVID-19. The government does not allow people to leave their homes.
For the Quanta employees, their homes are dormitories at the assembly plant. For weeks, they’ve only been allowed to go to their dorms or to work. It appears the frustration got to be too much for some of them.
