In 2018, at the height of the economic crisis in Venezuela through crippling sanctions, Kellogg’s announced the overnight closure of their Maracay factory with hundreds of redundancies – and massive knock-on effects in the local community.
The workers refused to accept the closure and, with government assistance, restarted the factory. It is still running eight years later, employing hundreds of people. Not only has it expanded production, it now uses 100% Venezuelan raw materials – not only local maize and sugar, but packaging also.
The head of the trade union council in the factory is now fulfilling the role of Managing Director.
This is how governments should deal with the whims of multinational capital, rather than allowing invaluable plants and equipment to go to scrap. If the Grangemouth refinery had been treated this way, when Ratcliffe decided he could make more profit in the Netherlands, then Scotland and the UK would not be facing potential jet fuel shortages now.
I hope you enjoy the video as much as I did my visit there.
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