Public Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation in 2019 after receiving documents from a local priest accompanying the case had decades
(TST) ordered, on Friday (29), that Volkswagen pay $ 165 million for collective moral damages. Workers underwent slavery conditions on a company farm in the Amazon between 1974 and 1986. The German automaker owned the area through a subsidiary. The farm was used for livestock and wood extraction.
Volkswagen Brazil reported in a statement that it will appeal the decision. The company said that in its 72 years of operation in the country, it defends human dignity and strictly fulfills all labor laws.
The (MPT) opened an investigation in 2019 after receiving documents from a local priest accompanying the case for decades. After further steps and testimonials, prosecutors formally reported to Volkswagen in 2024. According to them, it is the greatest reparation of this type in the country.
According to the case file, about 300 workers were hired through irregular bonds to defores the forest and prepare pasture. They were watched by armed guards, lived in precarious lodgings, received insufficient food and remained on the farm under server for debt. There was no medical assistance, nor for those who contracted malaria.
*With information from Estadão Content
Posted by Nicolas Robert
