Venezuela illegally seizes auto plant, states General Motors

General Motors stated on Wednesday that Venezuelan officials had illegally seized its auto plant in the industrial center of Valencia and pledged to “take all legal actions” to safeguard its rights.

The seizure comes amid a deepening recession in leftist-led Venezuela that has already roiled lots of U.S. companies.

“Yesterday, GMV’s (General Motors Venezolana) plant was suddenly taken by the public authorities, preventing normal operations. In addition, other possessions of the company, such as automobiles, have been unlawfully taken from its centers,” the company stated.

It stated the seizure would cause irreversible damage to the company, its 2,678 workers, its 79 dealers and to its providers.

Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not right away answered to the queries.

Venezuela’s auto market has been in freefall, struck by an absence of raw materials coming from complicated currency controls and stagnant local production, and numerous plants are hardly producing at all.