12.05.2022_Edi

For the past couple of weeks, several companies in China have been operating in a so-called closed loop. This means that employees eat, sleep and live at their workplace – usually in or near factories. With European labor laws in mind, this seems unthinkable. But even in the People’s Republic, a six-day week with twelve-hour shifts, as Tesla aims for in its closed-loop system, is not actually legal, writes Nico Beckert. But there are exceptions. He took a closer look at the supposed sideline of China’s zero-covid policy and discovered a huge gray area.