A lawsuit was filed this week by Brazil’s Labour Prosecutor's Office (MPT) against the Chinese EV manufacturer Build Your Dreams (BYD) and sub-contractor companies.

The suit days that in December, 220 Chinese workers were found in a situation analogous to slavery and victims of international human trafficking after they were hired to build BYD's industrial plant in the municipality of Camaçari, in the state of Bahia.

The MPT is requesting that BYD and the other two companies cited be ordered to pay $46m in damages.

In October 2024, the MPT began investigating the working conditions at the BYD plant in Camaçari, Bahia, after receiving an anonymous complaint. On December 23, a task force composed of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Labour, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, the Public Defender's Office of the Union, the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Federal Highway Police and the Federal Police rescued 163 Chinese workers from Jinjiang during the construction of the BYD factory. Subsequently, another 57 Tonghe workers were also found in conditions analogous to slavery and victims of human trafficking.

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