BYD Company Limited—China Labor Watch found forced-labor conditions and two worker deaths at BYD's Hungary EV factory construction site
A China Labor Watch investigation published April 14, 2026, based on 3 site visits and over 60 interviews since October 2025, found Chinese migrant workers building BYD's Szeged, Hungary EV factory faced 7-day weeks with 12+ hour shifts, debt bondage, illegal visa use, withheld wages, and coercive recruitment practices meeting the ILO definition of forced labor; workers were reportedly directed to lie to Hungarian labor inspectors about hours worked. A worker died on-site during a crane operation in February 2026 and a second worker died June 18, 2026 after being struck by a lorry. The findings were raised in the European Parliament in April 2026, the first time a Chinese-owned automaker's EU labor practices reached that forum, and the European Commission referred the matter to Hungary's Labour Inspectorate. Contractor AIM Construction Hungary Ltd. -- a subsidiary of the firm linked to BYD's 2024 Brazil forced-labor scandal -- was fined 34.5M forints (~$110,350) for occupational safety violations. BYD executive Stella Li denied the labor-abuse allegations.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supply Chain Ethics | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Worker Rights | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.497 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (critical ×2) × confidence (0.66)× agency (negligent ×0.5)
Evidence (2 signals)
CNBC: Second worker died at Hungary BYD factory site scrutinized for labor issues
CNBC reported a second worker death at BYD's Hungary factory construction site on June 18, 2026, after being struck by a lorry; contractor AIM Construction Hungary -- a subsidiary linked to BYD's 2024 Brazil forced-labor scandal -- was separately fined 34.5 million forints (~$110,350) for occupational safety violations. BYD executive Stella Li denied labor-abuse allegations.
CNBC/Bloomberg: China Labor Watch found forced-labor conditions at BYD's Hungary factory site
CNBC and Bloomberg reported on a China Labor Watch investigation (60+ worker interviews, 3 site visits since October 2025) finding contractors building BYD's Szeged factory kept Chinese migrant workers on 7-day weeks with 12+ hour shifts, used debt bondage and illegal visa arrangements, and withheld wages -- prompting three MEPs to raise the case with the European Commission.