According to Brazilian authorities, workers at the Chinese electric vehicle ( EV ) giant BYD lived in conditions comparable to” slavery” and have halted the construction of a factory there.
More than 160 workers have been rescued in Brazil’s northeastern state of Bahia, according to a statement from the Public Labour Prosecutor’s Office (MPT).
They reportedly were placed in a “degrading” culture and a building company withheld their passports and wages.
In a statement, BYD claimed to have cut ties with the company involved and continued to work toward “full compliance with Portuguese regulations.”
By March 2025, the factory was set to start operating, and it was BYD’s second Vehicle facility outside of Asia.
The employees, hired by Jinjiang Construction Brazil, lived in four infrastructure in Camaçari area.
At one like service, personnel were made to sleep on beds without cushions, according to prosecutors.
31 employees were also sharing each other’s bathrooms, making it necessary for them to rise very early to get ready for work.
According to the MPT,” the problems found in the lodgings painted an alarming picture of precarity and degradation.”
” Slavery-like conditions”, as defined by Brazilian law, include debt bondage and work that violates human dignity.
The MPT added that the circumstance also qualifies as “forced labor,” as some workers were forced to pay their wages and endured increased costs for contract termination.
According to BYD, the injured personnel had been relocated to hotels.
It added that it had conducted a “detailed overview” of the working and living situations for subcontracted staff, and asked on” some occasions” for the construction company to create improvements.
BYD, little for Build Your Goals, is one of the nation’s largest Vehicle makers.
It sold more electric vehicles than Elon Musk’s Tesla in the last three months of 2023, as the two battled for top spot in the sector.
The business has also been expanding its footprint in Brazil, which is by far its largest international business.
It built a factory in So Paulo in 2015, where it produced framework for energy trucks.
Last year, it announced that it would invest 3 billion reais ($ 484.2m ) in Brazil to build an EV manufacturing plant.
Federal grants have helped to boost electric vehicle sales in China. which encourage drivers to swap out their gasoline-powered vehicles for Batteries or hybrid.
However, what some people perceive as cruel support for domestic car manufacturers by the Chinese government is receiving a growing backlash worldwide.
Batteries from China are subject to additional levies from major areas like the US and the EU, which are anticipated to increase as the US president-elect Donald Trump enters office.