Brazil closes BYD factory site due to ‘slavery’ conditions
Brazilian authorities have halted construction of a factory for Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD, saying workers were living in “slavery”-like conditions.
More than 160 workers have been rescued in Brazil’s northeastern state of Bahia, according to A statement from the Public Labor Prosecutor’s Office (MPT).
He was reportedly kept in an “abusive” environment and had his passport and salary withheld by a construction company.
BYD said in a statement that it had severed ties with the company in question and was committed to “full compliance with Brazilian law.”
The factory was scheduled to be operational by March 2025, and was to be BYD’s first EV plant outside Asia.
The workers, hired by Jinjiang Construction Brazil, lived in four facilities in the city of Camacari.
At one such facility, workers were forced to sleep on beds without mattresses, according to prosecutors.
Each bathroom was also shared among 31 workers, forcing them to get up very early to get ready for work.
“The conditions found in the housing paint a worrying picture of uncertainty and degradation,” the MPT said.
“Slavery-like conditions” as defined by Brazilian law include debt bondage and work that violates human dignity.
The MPT said the situation also amounted to “forced labour”, as many workers had their wages withheld and faced exorbitant costs for terminating their contracts.
BYD said the affected workers have been moved to hotels.
It said it had conducted a “comprehensive review” of working and living conditions for subcontractor staff, and had asked the construction firm to make improvements on “numerous occasions”.
BYD, short for Build Your Dreams, is one of the world’s largest EV manufacturers.
It sold more electric vehicles than Elon Musk’s Tesla In the last three months of 2023, when both were battling for the top spot in the region.
The company is also expanding into Brazil, its largest overseas market by a wide margin.
It first opened a factory producing chassis for electric buses in São Paulo in 2015.
Last year, it announced it would invest 3 billion reais ($484.2m) to build an EV manufacturing plant in Brazil.
EV sales in China have increased due to government subsidies. Which encourage consumers to trade in their petrol-powered cars for an EV or hybrid.
But there is a growing backlash abroad against what some see as the Chinese government’s unfair support for domestic carmakers.
Major markets such as the US and EU have imposed tariffs on EVs from China, with more tariffs expected during the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump.
