Brazilian authorities have more than 100 Chinese workers at a construction site owned by the Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD classified as a victim of human trafficking in the state of Bahia. The 163 workers were discovered on the premises of a Chinese company factory, authorities said late Thursday.
Brazilian prosecutors released videos from the workers’ quarters, showing bunk beds without mattresses. According to the agency, workers also worked excessively long hours, sometimes seven days a week, in conditions that prosecutors described as degrading. In Brazil, not only “slavery-like conditions” are considered forced labor, but also degrading working conditions and long working hours that pose a threat to workers’ health.
BYD (Build Your Dreams) and the Jinjiang Group, which is responsible for the construction, have agreed to initially accommodate the workers in hotels until negotiations to terminate their contracts are concluded, the authorities said. However, both companies contradict the authorities’ assessment that it is a case of human trafficking.
“Misunderstandings in translation”
Jinjiang wrote in a social media post that the depiction of the workers as “enslaved” was inaccurate and there had been misunderstandings in translation.
BYD initially said it had severed ties with Jinjiang, but a BYD executive later accused “foreign forces” and some Chinese media outlets of deliberately slandering Chinese brands and the country and seeking to strain China-Brazil relations.
China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that the Chinese embassy in Brazil was in contact with the Brazilian government to review and clarify the situation. The Brazilian authorities have announced a meeting on January 7th to seek a solution.
An agreement could exempt BYD and Jinjiang from investigations by labor prosecutors. The investigations by labor inspectors and federal prosecutors could continue. They had asked for evidence to be shared so that “action can be taken in the criminal area,” the statement said.
Growing influence of China in Brazil
BYD has become one of the world’s leading manufacturers of electric vehicles and also produces batteries, electronic components and solar systems. At the end of 2023, the company announced the construction of its first European car factory in Hungary. BYD currently operates alongside China including locations in the USA, Brazil, Japan and India.
There are already two factories in Brazil, and the third plant in Bahia is scheduled to start production in early 2025, initially with an annual capacity of 150,000 cars. The production facilities have become a symbol of China’s growing influence in Brazil and an example of a closer relationship between the two countries. BYD invested $620 million in the construction of the factory complex in Bahia alone. Nearly one in five cars BYD sold outside China in the first 11 months of 2024 was made in Brazil.
Brazil has long been interested in more Chinese investment. But China’s model of bringing Chinese workers to countries where the People’s Republic invests poses a challenge to local job creation – a priority of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (79).
Criticism also in China
For BYD, however, the case in Bahia is bringing unwelcome attention. The company is expanding globally after gaining dominance in China – the world’s largest car market. More than a third of the electric cars and plug-in hybrids there already come from BYD. The car manufacturer has experienced extraordinary expansion at home and abroad. As of September, the company had nearly a million employees.
The case has sparked a rare backlash against BYD on Chinese social media and sparked discussion about workers’ rights. Several internet users said the living conditions of workers in Brazil were typical of those on construction sites in China.