Computing - 24-Hour Shifts Spring up on Chinese Notebook PC Lines
October 05, 2004
With a heavier influx of orders from brand-name vendors, Taiwanese notebook PC makers such as Quanta and Compal are keeping Chinese plants running 24-hours a day over the National Day holiday. One of the three biggest vacation periods on the Chinese calendar, makers have had to use double-time pay to entice workers to work overtime, with some makers even offering triple-time wages.
Around-the-clock production has become a rarity in the notebook PC industry. The high level of efficiency reached by most players typically only necessitates two eight-hour shifts per day. Between the second and third quarters of 2004, some makers had even stopped production for up to one week given the dearth of orders and power shortages.