GM Fires Its Venezuelan Workforce, Many by Text, as It Flees Country

Last week, General Motors’ long-idled Venezuela assembly plant fell into the hands of the country’s autocratic government, sparking the automaker’s exit from the strife-ridden nation.

With its material assets out of its hands, the automaker’s Venezuelan subsidiary jettisoned the plant’s entire 2,700-person workforce today, Reuters reports. It did so in as abrupt a manner as the takeover itself. Meanwhile, the government wants to chat.

According to one longtime employee, his company email account was deactivated over the weekend. Today, he told Reuters that, “We all received a payment and a text message.”

That story was the same for another worker, who claimed, “Our former bosses told us the executives left and we were all fired. There is no longer anyone in the country.”

The plant hadn’t produced a vehicle since 2015, given the country’s dire economic situation. At the time of the seizure, local media claimed the takeover stemmed from a 17-year-old lawsuit over nullified contracts with Chevrolet dealers in the city of Maracaibo. In response, GM stated it would cease operations there immediately.

One report stated one of the plant’s unions had taken over the plant weeks before the facility fell into government hands, with company officials barred from entering by union members.

Now, it seems that the country’s government would like the automaker to reconsider. According to Reuters, the government of Nicholas Maduro claims it doesn’t want to expropriate the 35-year-old facility, and would like GM to return.

“To the current General Motors president of Venezuela, Jose Cavaileri: You come here, show your face and share with us the options to restore normality,” Labor Minister Francisco Torrealba said today.

Based on GM’s actions and the fact that neither it, nor any other automaker, has been able to build or sell vehicles in any appreciable quantity in the country in recent years, the outlook for an agreement doesn’t look good. GM previously stated it would pursue all legal options to defend its rights.

[Image: General Motors]