Core Viewpoint - The Brazilian Ministry of Labor has filed a civil lawsuit against BYD and its contractors, accusing them of "slave labor" and "human trafficking," seeking compensation of 257 million reais (approximately 32.3 million RMB) [1] Group 1: Lawsuit and Allegations - The lawsuit claims that BYD is directly responsible for the actions of its third-party contractors, despite no evidence indicating that BYD was aware of the violations [3] - Reports indicate that nearly 500 Chinese workers faced poor working and living conditions during the construction of BYD's electric vehicle factory in Bahia [4] - Allegations include physical abuse, unsanitary living conditions, lack of personal protective equipment, and forced long working hours [5] Group 2: Company Response and Actions - Following the exposure of these issues, BYD terminated its contract with the contractor responsible for the construction and stated it would not tolerate violations of Brazilian law [7] - BYD announced that 163 rescued workers were sent back to their hometowns and received their owed payments [7] - The contractor, Goldsmith Group, claimed that the allegations were inaccurate and attributed misunderstandings to cultural differences and translation issues [9] Group 3: Impact on Operations - The labor dispute has delayed the construction of the factory, which was initially expected to produce 300,000 vehicles annually and create over 20,000 jobs [11] - The factory's production timeline has been affected, with full operations now expected to commence in December 2026 [11]