As Venezuela Seizes Plant, GM Calls Out 'Total Disregard'

As demonstrators march across Venezuela to protest President Nicolas Maduro's administration, General Motors is dealing with its own problems in Valencia. The automaker said in a statement Wednesday that its plant there was illegally snatched by public officials and that "other assets," including vehicles, had been swiped from the factory, Reuters reports. The company has nearly 80 dealers in the country, as well as about 2,700 workers, and it says those who are affected by the seizure will now receive "separation payments," per the Detroit Free Press. GM's statement calls the takeover a "total disregard" of its legal rights and says it will battle to defend those rights both "within and outside of Venezuela," CNNMoney reports. Reuters notes it's not the first time Venezuela has appropriated factories located there. (More Venezuela stories.)