Brazil Shuts Down BYD Factory Over ‘Slavery’ Conditions

Authorities in Brazil have stopped building a factory for the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) behemoth BYD, claiming that the working conditions were similar to “slavery.”

In the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia, more than 160 people have been rescued, the Public Labour Prosecutor’s Office (MPT) said in a statement.

A building company allegedly denied them their passports and pay and placed them in a “degrading” atmosphere.

In a statement, BYD declared that it was still committed to “full compliance with Brazilian legislation” and that it had severed its relations with the linked firm.

The workers, employed by Jinjiang Construction Brazil, lived in four facilities in Camaçari city and were expected to be operational by March 2025. Prosecutors claimed that at one of these facilities, workers were forced to sleep on beds without mattresses and that each bathroom was shared by 31 workers, requiring them to rise very early in order to be ready for work. “The conditions found in the lodgings revealed an alarming picture of precariousness and degradation,” the MPT claimed.

According to Brazilian law, “slavery-like conditions” include labor that infringes on human dignity and debt bondage.

The MPT went on to say that since many workers had their income withheld and had to pay exorbitant fees to terminate their contracts, the situation also qualifies as “forced labor.”

According to BYD, impacted employees have been relocated to motels.

Additionally, it stated that it had carried out a “detailed review” of the housing and working circumstances for subcontracted workers and had requested modifications from the construction company “several occasions.”