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General Motors Halts Operations In Venezuela After Government Seizes Its Factory

Authorities in Venezuela have seized General Motors’ factory, which led the American company to stop all operations in the country.
General Motors stamping facility in Arlington, USA 1 photo
Photo: General Motors
GM says that the move was illegal, and the company woes to take all legal actions to defend its possessions and rights. The entire move was made without any warning or announcement, and authorities have also taken the vehicles inside the facility, along with all tooling and everything else in the compound.

Venezuela is going through an economic crisis, and its leftist government has not managed to fix the situation, which seems to be progressing as smoothly as an avalanche, in spite of the country’s oil reserves.

Tens of thousands have protested in the streets to request presidential elections, but only after the opposition politicians are released from jail.

Those people were arrested at the orders of Nicolas Maduro, President of Venezuela, who is accused of using the institutions of the socialist government to pursue his political opponents. Triple-digit inflation and food shortages are also causes of the protests in the country, Detroit News reports. GM will pay separation benefits to its workers, according to Venezuelan law.

Ford wrote off its investment in Venezuela back in early 2015 through a pre-tax write-down. Many other foreign companies are affected by the situation in the country, and the government in Caracas has a history of seizing the assets of foreign firms. Things have not gone well in those collaborations once the clench of the government was released from those possessions.

The late leader of the country, Hugo Chavez, led the South American nation into over a dozen international arbitration cases because of measures like the on imposed on General Motors by his successor.

General Motors started its local subsidiary in Venezuela back in 1948, and it has about 2,700 employees. The dealer network has 79 members, and the business is a market leader for over 35 years in the country.

However, dealers cannot sell anything if the facility is blocked by the fact that the government has taken control of all of the assets of the American conglomerate.
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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