"Bumble Bee asks court to dismiss lawsuit alleging forced labor in tuna supply chain", 6 June 2025.

U.S. canned tuna producer Bumble Bee Foods has asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that it knowingly benefited from its suppliers’ use of forced labor by Indonesian workers.

Earlier this year, four Indonesian men filed a complaint in federal court in San Diego, California, against Bumble Bee, alleging the company was aware of and profited from labor abuses and forced labor that they and other migrant sea workers endured aboard fishing vessels supplying the iconic U.S. tuna brand.

On June 2, the company submitted a motion to the court to dismiss the case on legal grounds in an effort to end it before it reaches trial. In the motion, the company argued the plaintiffs lack standing for their claims, that they failed to state a proper claim under the law in question, and that the court lacks jurisdiction over certain aspects of the case...

Bumble Bee declined Mongabay’s request for comments due to the pending litigation.

The Indonesians launched their historic lawsuit, believed to be the first of its kind against the seafood industry in the U.S., on March 12 under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act...

The Indonesians’ full testimonies described in the legal complaint fit all of the 11 indicators of forced labor identified by the United Nations’ International Labour Organization...

Bumble Bee is one of the top three tuna brands in the United States, holding around 25% of the canned tuna market. Its owner, FCF, is a major Taiwanese tuna trader with operations spanning from fishing vessels to retail brands...

Labor rights and environmental groups have raised these long-standing allegations with Bumble Bee, but said they would receive a denial or no response. In 2022, Greenpeace East Asia published a report linking Bumble Bee to tuna sourced from vessels accused of using forced labor...