Whilst many automakers see South America as a potentially huge market, not all is well in certain countries. Reuters reported that the plant sent a text message to their employees to told them that they were fired and that they would receive severance pay in their bank accounts. This came after a court order in Venezuela was issued to seize the plant due to a dispute with dealers.
The plant hasn’t produced anything since 2016 due to parts shortage as well as strict currency control.
“We all received a payment and a text message,” said a worker who had worked for the company for more than a decade, adding that his corporate email account had been deactivated over the weekend.
“Our former bosses told us the executives left and we were all fired. There is no longer anyone in the country,” added another employee who received the same message on his personal cell phone and a payment to his account. He had been at GM for five years.
General Motors believe that the seizure of their assets is illegal in nature. The local government who is known to be heavily left winged has reached out to GM as well to hold talks to resolve the issue. Since GM has been in the country for the past 35 years, the government has expressed that they will not want to take over the plant and hopes that GM will return to running it.
It hasn’t been all dandy with the plant either, it was stated in the report that last year, its production was at an all-time low of 8 cars a day.
