BYD will employ more American employees

According to a report on the auto website inautonews, BYD recently stated in a statement that it will employ more American employees at its California factory. The BYD plant in Los Angeles is a manufacturing plant for electric buses. A total of 40 American employees are employed here.

In the statement, BYD pointed out that the Chinese engineering and technical personnel currently working at the plant are temporarily on the nature of secondment, and its main task is to teach foreign employees of the California plant the assembly technology of electric buses. After the completion of the work, the Chinese personnel will be withdrawn from the country and will not occupy the quota of American employees.

According to a recent report in the New York Times, BYD was investigated by the California authorities and eventually was fined US$100,000 due to employees’ wages failing to meet the minimum wage and other irregularities.

As early as the establishment of the California factory, BYD announced that it would provide job opportunities for more American employees. But in fact, the actual number of employees may not have reached the expectations of the California authorities, so BYD this move is no lack of good intentions to the California authorities. On the other hand, BYD has been vigorously expanding its overseas electric vehicle production business. This year alone, BYD received orders for electric buses from Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. BYD hopes that the California plant can produce 50 to 100 electric buses in the next year. According to BYD's plan, the capacity of the California plant will be increased to 500 vehicles/year by 2015. Therefore, California factories also need more staff to ensure the normal operation of production.