- Brazil adds BYD to labor abuse registry over construction worker treatment.
- Chinese workers faced passport confiscation, poor housing, and wage restrictions.
- Carmaker denies knowledge, but authorities say it shoulders the responsibility.
BYD sells more EVs than any other carmaker on the planet, but Brazil’s government doesn’t like some of the methods it used to get there. Lawmakers in the country have just placed the Chinese automaker on a “dirty list” due to mistreatment of workers.
The issue doesn’t involve people building cars for BYD in Brazil, but those who built the plant at Camaçari. A group of 163 Chinese laborers brought in by contractor Jinjiang Group allegedly faced conditions that sound less like a modern construction job and more like something from the 1800s.
Related: BYD Sued Over One Toilet Per 31 Workers And Other Horrors
Investigators found workers living in overcrowded housing, with dozens sharing limited facilities and basic comforts noticeably absent, Reuters says. In one raid, 31 workers were found squashed into a single house with only one bathroom.
Reports also suggested the workers’ passports were taken away and a chunk of wages never made it into their hands, instead being routed to China. They even had to hand over a $900 deposit just to start the job, which was only returned after they had completed six months on the site.
BYD Blamed Contractor
The 2024 scandal raised serious questions about how closely BYD was watching what was happening on its own project. The company has said it wasn’t aware of any wrongdoing until the situation became public, but Brazilian authorities aren’t buying the idea that responsibility stops with the contractor.
Officials argue that if your name is on the factory, then the buck stops with you, even if someone else handled the hiring. That stance has now resulted in BYD being formally added to a government registry reserved for companies linked to deeply unacceptable labor practices.
Being on that list isn’t just a bad look. It can also limit access to certain financial support from Brazilian institutions, which could complicate future expansion plans in BYD’s biggest market after its home country. But since its ability to produce and sell cars like the Camaçari-built Dolphin Mini (Seagull in China; Dolphin Surf in Europe) isn’t affected, BYD is going to remain a major thorn in the side of every other brand operating in the region.
