"Brazilian court upholds slave-like labor ruling against Volkswagen", 25 February 2026

....The Regional Labor Court of the 8th Region upheld the conviction of Volkswagen for practicing contemporary slave-like labor during Brazil’s civil-military dictatorship at the Vale do Rio Cristalino farm in Santana do Araguaia, Pará state.

With the decision, issued during an ordinary session held Tuesday (Feb. 24), the automaker will be required to pay BRL 165 million in compensation to fund worker protection measures, including the Workers’ Assistance Fund (FAT).

The case was brought through a public civil action - a collective lawsuit - by the Labor Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPT), which sought not only compensation for moral damages but also a public retraction from the company and the implementation of measures such as protocols to expedite its response in similar cases, a complaint channel, and inspection procedures...

In Tuesday’s session, the president of the court’s 4th panel, Judge Carlos Zahlouth Júnior, noted that, at the time of the crimes, police opened an investigation but later closed it. He also referred to the persecution of regime opponents in São Bernardo do Campo, in the state of São Paulo, following the 1964 coup, with the participation of segments of the Brazilian business community.

“I also recognize that it was one of the few companies that acknowledged its past,” he added...

Contacted by Agência Brasil, Volkswagen’s team in Brazil stated that it “will continue to pursue legal certainty at the highest levels of the Brazilian judiciary”...