BYD Added to Brazil's "Dirty List" of Slave Labor - 07/04/2026 - Business

Chinese automaker BYD has been added to the Ministry of Labor and Employment’s (MTE) "dirty list," a registry of employers that have subjected workers to conditions analogous to slavery. The measure follows an inspection that rescued 163 Chinese nationals at the construction site of the company’s new factory in Camaçari, in the state of Bahia.

Auditors identified fraud in migration documents and precarious conditions, such as housing without mattresses and workdays exceeding ten hours without rest. In one location, there was only one bathroom for 31 people. In January, BYD and two subcontractors signed a R$40 million agreement with the Labor Prosecutor’s Office (MPT) to compensate the rescued workers, but the settlement does not remove the automaker from the list.

The list is used by the financial sector to manage risk and may restrict access to credit. The UN considers the registry one of the most relevant instruments in the global fight against slave labor. Contacted, BYD did not respond.