Brazil suspends temporary work visas for BYD amid claims of ‘slavery-like conditions’

Announcement came days after labour authorities also said they found Chinese workers at factory in Bahia were victims of human trafficking

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BYD’s electric vehicle factory’s construction site in Camacari, Brazil. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:45am, 28 Dec 2024

Brazilian authorities have suspended the issuance of temporary work visas for BYD in the wake of accusations that some workers at a site owned by the Chinese electric vehicle producer had been victims of human trafficking, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.

The announcement came days after labour authorities said they found 163 Chinese workers in “slavery-like” conditions at the BYD factory construction site in the northeastern state of Bahia. The workers were employed by contractor Jinjiang Group, which has denied any wrongdoing.

Later, the authorities also said the workers were victims of human trafficking.

According to the foreign ministry, the workers entered Brazil on temporary work visas. Labor authorities had said earlier in the week that the workers had been brought to Brazil irregularly.

BYD did not immediately respond to request for comment on the ministry’s decision.

An operation that rescued 163 Chinese workers from “slave-like conditions” in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil where they had been building an electric car factory for Chinese giant BYD. Photo: Handout / Brazil’s Federal Public Ministry (MPT) / AFP

In a social media post on Thursday, which was reposted by a BYD spokesperson, Jinjiang Group rejected the Brazilian authorities’ accusations about the work conditions at the Bahia site.