“Work similar to slavery” – Ambev Caught Exploiting Workers again
Posted on March 18, 2025 in AB InBev, Ambev, Sabotage, BrazilThe Brazilian Ministry of Labor has exposed Ambev, a company controlled by AB Inbev, for subjecting workers to conditions akin to modern slavery at Salvador’s Carnival. Alongside the municipal government, Ambev has been held responsible for engaging over 300 workers under inhumane conditions – an alarming yet unsurprising revelation given the industry’s history of exploiting vulnerable workers.
The investigation found that these workers, there to sell Ambev’s beer at the event, were deprived of basic rights such as proper accommodation, adequate food, and fair wages. Many were forced to sleep on the ground, in unhygienic conditions, with no access to sanitary facilities. Meanwhile, Ambev raked in millions in alcohol sales during one of the largest street festivals in the world.
This is not an isolated case. Ambev and other alcohol giants have repeatedly been linked to exploitative labor practices. In 2021, labor inspectors rescued 23 workers – 22 Venezuelans and one Haitian – who were subjected to modern slavery conditions while working for a subcontractor of Ambev and Heineken. These workers were forced to live in their trucks, lacked access to potable water, and endured grueling hours without rest.
Sabotage is Big Alcohol’s deliberate actions to damage and obstruct people’s access to public goods. This strategy comprises calculated actions to break and undermine society’s rules, laws, and regulations. This strategy also includes willful activity that jeopardizes people’s access to essential resources such as water and basic food. And it includes Big Alcohol’s deliberate activities to damage or disrupt the proper functioning of society’s institutions, preventing them from addressing alcohol-related harm in the public interest. Examples of this strategy include corruption, bribery, tax evasion and avoidance, price-fixing cartels, violations of alcohol marketing rules, and other unethical practices, such as depleting scarce drinking water.