Volkswagen to Stop Using Slave Labor

Volkswagen has decided to end all operations in East Turkistan following long-standing public pressure over China’s genocide and forced labor policies against the Uyghurs.

In a statement dated November 27, 2024, German automotive giant Volkswagen announced that it had decided to withdraw from all operations in the so-called “Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region” and that the company’s Chinese partner SAIC had agreed to sell its factories and test tracks in the region to Shanghai Motor Vehicle Inspection Certification (SMVIC), a subsidiary of the state-owned Shanghai Lingang Development Group.

While no financial details of the deal were provided, it was stated that all employees of the factory would be taken over by SMVIC.

China is Volkswagen’s largest sales market, and despite the fact that East Turkistan has frequently been in the news for genocide, forced labor, and other human rights violations, Volkswagen’s continued operations at its factory in the region have long been criticized by various human rights organizations.

Volkswagen has repeatedly refused to end its operations, arguing that the factory helps improve people’s conditions. However, in February 2024, voices against Volkswagen’s operations in the region rose when the German newspaper Handelsblatt revealed evidence that Uyghurs were forced to work during the construction of a test track in the city of Turpan.