London December 24 2024: BYD Co. has severed ties with a construction firm after Brazilian authorities halted construction of a new electric-vehicle plant where workers were found working and living in “slavery”-like conditions.
Brazilian authorities on Monday said they had rescued 163 Chinese workers building a new EV factory for BYD in the northeast state of Bahia, and ordered a halt to construction, according to a statement by the Labor Prosecutor’s Office.
The Chinese EV giant has terminated ties with Jinjiang Construction Brazil Ltd. and pledged to protect the rights of subcontracted workers, the company said in a statement Monday. All workers will be transferred to hotels, it said.
“BYD Auto do Brasil reiterates its commitment to full compliance with Brazilian legislation, especially with regard to the protection of workers’ rights and human dignity,” said Alexandre Baldy, senior vice president of BYD Brasil.
Prosecutors said the workers were living in conditions akin to slavery and also had their passports and large parts of their salaries withheld by the construction firm.
Among a series of shortcomings, the report found that if a worker quit after six months, they would leave without any pay since the company deducted the airfare to and from Brazil, among other costs. One victim suffered an accident at work, which occurred after they had worked for 25 days straight.
One of the accommodation facilities had beds without mattresses and only one bathroom for every 31 workers, forcing them to wake up at 4 a.m. daily to be ready to leave for work by 5.30 a.m., the report noted.
Authorities shut down the accommodation sites until local regulators deem them up to standard.
BYD said it had conducted a “detailed review” in the past few weeks of working and living conditions for subcontracted employees, and had asked on “several occasions” for its construction firm to make improvements.
The new Brazilian EV factory is due to come online next year. South America’s largest economy has become a top-selling market for BYD’s plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles, with the Shenzhen-based company selling over 66,000 units there this year up to November.
