Brazil’s Ministry of Labour has officially included Chinese automaker BYD on its “dirty list” of employers linked to slave-like labour conditions. The decision follows a 2024 investigation into the trafficking of 163 Chinese workers hired through a third-party contractor, Jinjiang Group, to build BYD’s first Brazilian manufacturing facility.
The listing imposes significant financial hurdles for the company, including a ban on specific loans from Brazilian state banks. While BYD signed a settlement with labour prosecutors, it failed to reach an agreement with labour inspectors, leading to its inclusion on the registry after all administrative appeals were exhausted.
Inspectors previously detailed “degrading conditions” during the plant’s construction, noting that workers were housed in overcrowded quarters without mattresses and forced to surrender their passports. Despite the reputational blow, the ministry confirmed the move does not halt current production at the plant, which has manufactured over 25,000 vehicles since its inauguration by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva last year.
