U.S. firm surprised by Venezuela nationalization

Caracas, Agency
The Venezuelan affiliate of U.S. firm Owens-Illinois Inc. on Tuesday said it had been "surprised" by President Hugo Chavez's decision to nationalize the firm's two plants in the Andean nation.

Representatives of Owens-Illinois in Venezuela issued a statement in which they revealed that the company had no advance warning of the nationalization, which Chavez announced during the course of a more-than-five-hour-long broadcast speech that ended after midnight Monday.

"Owens-Illinois, expropriate it!" said Chavez during the broadcast in ordering Vice President Elias Jaua to take action on the matter.

The nationalization was decided upon, the leftist president said, because the U.S. firm "has for years been exploiting the workers, destroying the environment and carrying off the money of Venezuelans."

Executives with Owens-Illinois' Venezuela unit said in the statement that they were "surprised by the decision and prepared to work with the government to understand the situation (in its totality)."

"We continue to be committed to compliance with all the prevailing laws and regulations in the country," the firm added in the brief communique.

The Venezuelan office of Owens-Illinois recalled that he had been producing glass containers for more than 50 years at its two plants in Venezuela, which together employ more than 1,000 people.

It also said that operations in Venezuela "represent less than 5 percent of our global income in that sector."

Owens-Illinois Inc. is the world's leading manufacturer of glass containers.

Chavez implemented the new nationalization in an "acceleration" of his ongoing efforts to make Venezuela a socialist country.