Rubber and car tire producer Goodyear announced that all production operations in Venezuela will be brought to an immediate halt, and will not be resuming for the foreseeable future. Due to a combination of Venezuela’s struggling economy and an increase on sanctions from the US, the company cannot feasibly turn a profit in the country anymore. The production plant is still open at the moment, but the machinery is currently non-functioning.
In a statement to FOX Business on Monday, a representative of the company said that “our goal had been to maintain [the plant’s] operations, but economic conditions and U.S. sanctions have made this impossible. We appreciate and thank the Goodyear-Venezuela associates for their contributions and commitment under very difficult conditions.” All workers from the plant will be receiving severance payments, as well as ten complimentary Goodyear tires each.
Goodyear has joined the likes of Kellogg’s General Motors, and Kimberly Clark in its departure from Venezuela. These companies have attributed their decisions to multiple factors, though a common denominator seems to be disagreements with current Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s policies. These departures are on top of the 3 million Venezuelan citizens that have left the country in the last few years.
