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Electric car giant BYD has become the first Chinese business to be raised in the European Parliament over allegations of labor abuses in Hungary, CNBC has learned, following a watchdog’s investigation into working conditions at the site.
Contractors hired to build BYD’s factory in Hungary allegedly kept thousands of employees working seven days a week, with shifts lasting more than 12 hours a day, according to a report published on April 14 by New York-based watchdog China Labor Watch (CLW). The group said it interviewed 50 workers and visited the factory site three times since October 2025.
China Labor Watch, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that has tracked worker conditions since its founding in 2000, shared the report’s findings with EU government representatives. Earlier this month, three members of the European Parliament formally asked the European Commission about the alleged labor abuses in Hungary.
The allegations by China Labor Watch mark the first time claims of labor abuses linked to a Chinese-owned auto business manufacturing in the European Union have been brought to the attention of the European Commission, according to checks by CNBC.
