In a statement, G. M.’s Venezuelan division said it was ceasing operations in the country after its plant was “unexpectedly taken by the public
authorities, preventing normal operations.” It said the government had taken other company assets, including vehicles, from the plant.
Many companies have deconsolidated their Venezuelan operations in the past two years, including the
tire-maker Goodyear, which took a $646 million charge for its Venezuelan business last year.
“There is uncertainty for the future of the economy, and companies have long periods to wait for cash.”
Coca-Cola, long one of the most successful companies in Latin America, suspended production in Venezuela last summer because of a scarcity of sugar in a country
that once was one of the prime producers in the region.
Several international service companies are keeping staff members, offices and equipment, including rigs, in the country despite a lack of payments from PDVSA in hopes
that Venezuela will return to its traditional place as South America’s leading oil producer.
After Plant Seizure, G. M. Becomes the Latest to Give Up on Venezuela -
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS, NICHOLAS CASEY and BILL VLASICAPRIL 20, 2017
Venezuela was once among the most lucrative markets in Latin America for foreign businesses, a country oozing in oil
and blessed with an emerging middle class hungry for everything modern, from new cars to snug-fitting disposable diapers.
“Nowadays, there is no country in Latin America more difficult for a company to operate in,” said Luis Giusti, a former chief
executive of Petróleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA, the national oil company, who also worked for Shell Corp. of Venezuela.