As Venezuela Seizes Plant, GM Calls Out 'Total Disregard'

General Motors says its plant, 'other assets' were illegally taken in Valencia
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 20, 2017 7:46 AM CDT
GM: Venezuela Just Illegally Seized Our Plant
The General Motors logo is shown May 16, 2014, at the company's world headquarters in Detroit.   (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

As demonstrators march across Venezuela to protest President Nicolas Maduro's administration, General Motors is dealing with its own problems in Valencia. The automaker said in a statement Wednesday that its plant there was illegally snatched by public officials and that "other assets," including vehicles, had been swiped from the factory, Reuters reports. The company has nearly 80 dealers in the country, as well as about 2,700 workers, and it says those who are affected by the seizure will now receive "separation payments," per the Detroit Free Press. GM's statement calls the takeover a "total disregard" of its legal rights and says it will battle to defend those rights both "within and outside of Venezuela," CNNMoney reports. Reuters notes it's not the first time Venezuela has appropriated factories located there. (More Venezuela stories.)

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