Several production lines at Volkswagen and FAW's plant in Chengdu are operating with staff on 11-hour shifts, up from eight usually, to compensate for time lost due to a closure in November, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Production at the plant was stopped on Nov. 21 for two weeks because of a lack of parts as suppliers struggled with rising coronavirus cases following China's loosening of its zero-COVID policy.
The carmaker has brought in extra staff at the plant from within its wider workforce to raise the number of hours worked in order to make up for production shortfalls from that time and allow for more breaks, a spokesperson said.
The spokesperson denied an earlier report by Bloomberg that staff at Volkswagen's plant in Foshan were working 11-hour shifts because other workers were calling in sick with coronavirus.
The Foshan plant was operating as normal, the spokesperson said, adding hygiene measures were in place similar to those implemented at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe, such as mask-wearing and keeping distance between workers.
All other plants were stable with no significant changes to their operation, the spokesperson said.
