The Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD announced that it has severed ties with the subcontracted company whose Chinese workers were found living and working in slave-like conditions in Brazil, leading to the suspension of the installation works for BYD’s new factory in Camaçari, Bahia.
According to Brazilian government officials, the construction company responsible for the project, Jinjiang Construction, treated its 163 workers as modern slaves. These workers, allegedly hired in China by another company, were reportedly brought to Brazil through irregular means. Furthermore, over 100 employees had their passports withheld.
This Thursday, Jinjiang Group stated that the description made by Brazilian authorities of its employees as “slaves” was inconsistent with the facts and that there had been misunderstandings in translation.
“Being unjustly labeled as ‘slaves’ made our employees feel that their dignity was insulted and their human rights violated, seriously harming the dignity of the Chinese people. We signed a joint letter to express our true feelings”, said Jinjiang in a post on the Chinese social network Weibo. It is worth noting that BYD is building a new factory in Brazil, which will have an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles and is expected to begin production in early 2025.
