China’s largest electric vehicle maker, BYD, rebuked accusations brought by Brazilian authorities this week that the company forces employees to work like slaves.

In a statement Thursday, BYD’s contractor in Brazil, Jinjiang Group, said the allegations have seriously hurt the workers.

“Being unjustly labeled as ‘enslaved’ has made our employees feel that their dignity has been insulted and their human rights violated, seriously hurting the dignity of the Chinese people,” the company wrote.

On Monday, Brazilian authorities announced they discovered 163 employees working in “slavery-like” conditions at a BYD-owned construction factory. The facility, in Bahia, Brazil, kept employees at work long after the legal limit and in unacceptable conditions, according to the officials. 

Many of the workers at the facility were flown in from China. Authorities say company officials confiscated the workers’ passports, and if they decided to quit, the workers would be forced to pay for their airfare back to China. The officials also kept around 60% of the workers’ wages. 

While BYD denied the allegations, the company formally ended its contract with Jinjiang after Brazilian authorities released their findings Monday.

• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.