Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday that they have halted issuing temporary work visas to BYD, a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, due to allegations that some workers at the company’s factory were victims of human trafficking.
Just a few days ago, the Brazilian Ministry of Labor revealed that 163 Chinese workers were found at the construction site of BYD’s factory in Bahia, a state in northeastern Brazil, where they were subjected to “slave-like” treatment and were allegedly brought to Brazil illegally. These workers were employed by the contracting company Jinjiang Group, which denied any wrongdoing.
Labor inspector Liane Durao stated that the workers needed permission to leave their accommodations, with at least 107 passports being withheld by the employer, and the work conditions on-site were deemed unsafe.
Prosecutors highlighted that in one factory, workers were forced to sleep on beds without mattresses and 31 workers shared one bathroom. They had to wake up early in order to start work.
Subsequently, Brazilian authorities confirmed that these workers were indeed victims of human trafficking. The Foreign Ministry specified that these workers entered Brazil on temporary work visas.
Brazil is BYD’s largest overseas market, and in the first 11 months of 2024, nearly one-fifth of BYD’s car sales outside of China were in Brazil.
BYD has invested $620 million in its plant in Bahia. Before the scandal broke, the factory was a symbol of Beijing’s growing influence in South America. BYD had planned to start production in Brazil early next year, becoming its first electric vehicle plant outside of Asia with an initial annual output target of 150,000 vehicles.
Regarding Brazil’s action to stop issuing temporary work visas, BYD did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
In another statement on Friday, the Brazilian Ministry of Justice expressed that if prosecutors confirm any violations at the BYD factory, residence permits issued to Chinese workers will be revoked.
An insider disclosed that the Ministry of Justice had already requested the Foreign Ministry to suspend issuing temporary visas to BYD on December 20, three days before the Labor Ministry’s investigation results were made public.
The source further mentioned that this order was also relayed to the Brazilian Embassy in Beijing.
On Thursday, a post shared by a BYD spokesperson on social media refuted the Brazilian authorities’ accusations regarding the working conditions at the Bahia factory.
Jinjiang Group claimed that describing the workers as being subjected to “slavery-like conditions” was inaccurate and stemmed from translation errors.
After meetings with representatives from both companies, Brazilian labor prosecutors stated that BYD and Jinjiang Group have agreed to assist these 163 workers and accommodate them in hotels until an agreement on contract termination is reached.
(References from Reuters and AP were used in this article)