Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD halted the construction of its first factory in Brazil on the grounds that workers were living in ‘slavery’ conditions. More than 160 workers were rescued from working in slavery conditions at the plant in the state of Bahia in northeastern Brazil. BYD allegedly failed to pay workers’ salaries and took away their passports. Here are the details

Workers’ living conditions described as “inhumane”

Brazil’s Public Labour Prosecutor’s Office (MPT) announced that the workers were working in appalling conditions and were not being paid by the construction company. Workers were forced to live in four facilities in the city of Camaçari, while in one facility workers were forced to sleep in beds without mattresses. It was also stated that each bathroom was shared by 31 people, forcing workers to get up very early in the morning.

Making a statement on the issue, BYD announced that it has severed its ties with the construction company Jinjiang Construction Brazil and that the aggrieved workers have been placed in hotels. The company said it had analysed the living and working conditions of the subcontracted workers and had repeatedly submitted requests for improvement. ‘Our commitment to full compliance with Brazilian law continues,’ BYD said in a statement.

Under normal circumstances, the factory was planned to be operational in March 2025, and this facility would be BYD’s first electric vehicle factory outside Asia. The company started production of electric bus chassis in Sao Paulo in 2015, seeing Brazil as its largest overseas market. Last year, it announced that it would establish an electric vehicle production facility in Brazil by investing 3 billion reals (approximately 484 million dollars).

What do you think about this situation? Should the overseas operations of Chinese manufacturers be more strictly controlled? You can share your opinions in the comments!