Brazilian labor authorities and federal prosecutors identified 224 Chinese laborers working at BYD’s new electric vehicle plant in Camaçari, Bahia, in conditions analogous to slavery. Investigators found degrading living conditions, armed surveillance, and contractors withholding passports and wages. In May 2025 the authorities sued BYD and its contractors China Jinjiang Construction Brazil Ltda. and Tecmonta Equipamentos Inteligentes Brasil Ltda. for labor violations. A civil settlement reached on 26 December 2025 requires the contractors to pay approximately R$40 million (US$7.5 million) in damages — half earmarked for affected workers — and imposes binding labor‑rights obligations, with BYD acting as guarantor. Climate Rights International warns that many affected workers have returned to China, raising doubts about compensation, and urges Brazilian authorities to ensure full implementation of the settlement, investigate new complaints from Brazilian workers about poor conditions, and hold BYD accountable across its operations.