GM Ceases Venezuela Operations After Government Seizes Plant
- Nation’s auto industry has collapsed; March sales plunged 92%
- GM to ‘take all legal actions’ after factory, vehicles taken
Demonstrators clash with riot police during a march against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, on April 19, 2017.
Photographer: Carlos Becarra/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
General Motors Co. shut down operations in Venezuela after authorities seized the automaker’s plant and took its vehicles, the first nationalization of a major company’s facilities in the country in more than two years.
GM’s factory was “unexpectedly taken,” according to a statement from the Detroit-based automaker. The company “strongly rejects the arbitrary measures taken by the authorities and will vigorously take all legal actions, within and outside of Venezuela, to defend its rights.”