Brazil Adds BYD to Slave Labor Blacklist

The Brazilian Ministry of Labour and Employment added BYD to the "lista suja" (dirty list), a government registry of employers who subject workers to conditions analogous to slavery. The decision follows investigations into the construction of the automaker's plant in Camaçari, Bahia, where inspectors found 163 Chinese nationals subjected to human trafficking and forced labor. Documented abuses included 70-hour work weeks, confiscated passports, and degrading living conditions, such as 31 people sharing a single house with one bathroom.

Investigations revealed that some workers paid deposits of nearly $900 and had up to 70% of their wages withheld or redirected to contractors in China. While BYD attributed these violations to its contractor, Jinjiang Group, Brazilian officials determined the automaker bore direct responsibility for the workforce and immigration fraud. In January 2026, BYD paid 40 million reais in compensation to workers, but it failed to reach an agreement with labor inspectors, leading to its inclusion on the blacklist.

The designation prevents BYD from accessing low-interest loans from state institutions like the Brazilian Development Bank and triggers credit risk reviews by private banks. Although the company remains on the registry for two years unless a court orders its removal, the listing does not halt operations at the Camaçari plant, which has produced over 25,000 vehicles since its October inauguration attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.