General Motors Shutting Down Ecuador Factory

QUITO (Reuters) – General Motors (NYSE:GM) will cease production at its Ecuador factory on Friday due to local competitive pressures but will continue selling vehicles in the Andean region.

In April, the Cadillac and Chevrolet manufacturer announced the closure of its production facilities in Ecuador and Colombia. The OBB plant in Quito produces 51% of Ecuador’s vehicles.

With the factory’s closure, the future of its 320 workers is uncertain. Ecuador’s unemployment rate was 4.1% in the first quarter of the year, as per official statistics.

Antonio Oramas, welding team leader and employee since 2004, expressed, “I have mixed feelings – I’m welding my last truck for General Motors in Ecuador. It will affect us a lot. Not all of us will have the same opportunity for a new job.”