Ford has been experiencing severe problems with its vehicle assembly operations in Venezuela for some time now, with the Blue Oval having reduced production in January this year over a shortage of foreign currency (US dollars). The situation has now taken a turn for the worse and Ford decided on Monday to freeze its operations because of the lack of hard currency to import parts for the cars it builds.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, Ford employees at the brand’s plant in the city of Valencia told Reuters that the factory would remain closed until the end of May.
The news agency also spoke to Venezuelan Transport Minister Haiman El Troudi who confirmed the shutdown, but said that the government has already met with Ford representatives and will resolve some “critical bottlenecks” to have the factory back online in two weeks.
The Blue Oval isn’t the only manufacturer experiencing problems on growing dollar shortage as Toyota was also forced to suspend its vehicle assembly operations in February.
Since 2003, Venezuela has implemented a foreign currency control system to block capital outflows and operates three different exchange rates depending on the industry.
Last December, Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro signed a legislation that allows the government to regulate the price of new and used cars in the country to battle record inflation and following a 64 percent drop in automobile sales.
By John Halas
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