CARACAS, Venezuela—Kellogg Co., citing the “deterioration” of a country in the midst of an economic meltdown, said Tuesday it was closing operations that employed 400 workers and produced the majority of the breakfast cereal consumed by Venezuelans. 
 
 “The current economic and social deterioration in the country has now prompted the company to discontinue operations,” the Battle Creek, Mich.-based company said. 
 
 Workers... 

 Image copyright Reuters Image caption "No to the closure" read graffiti on the firm's gates over the weekend 
 
 The government of Venezuela has said it has seized a factory owned by the US firm Kimberly-Clark. 
 
 The firm had said it was halting operations in Venezuela as it was unable to obtain raw materials. 
 
 But the labour minister said on Monday that the factory closure was illegal and it had re-opened "in the hands of the workers". 
 
 Kimberly-Clark, which makes hygiene products including tissues and nappies, said it had acted appropriately. 
 
 Over the weekend it became the latest multinational to close or scale back operations in the country, citing strict currency controls, a lack of raw materials and soaring inflation. 
 
 General Mills, Procter & Gamble and other corporations have reduced operations in Venezuela as the country is gripped by economic crisis and widespread shortages of basic household goods. 
 
 What has gone wrong in Venezuela? 
 
 Labour Minister Oswaldo Vera, from the ruling Socialist Party (PSUV), visited the factory in Maracay and said it was illegal. 
 
 Almost 1,000 workers had asked him to re-start production, he said. 
 
 Mr Vera said: "Kimberly-Clark will continue producing, now in the hands of the workers. 
 
 "We've just turned on the first engine." 
 
 The Texas-based company said in a statement: "If the Venezuelan government takes control of Kimberly-Clark facilities and operations, it will be responsible for the well-being of the workers and the physical asset, equipment and machinery in the facilities going forward." 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption Toilet paper has been in short supply in Venezuela - these people took advantage of a temporary open border and stocked up in neighbouring Colombia 
 
 Venezuelans cross in to Colombia to buy food 
 
 There are daily protests against shortages at the moment in Venezuela. 
 
 A growing opposition blames President Nicolas Maduro of wrecking the oil-rich economy and is seeking a referendum to remove him. 
 
 Mr Maduro has previously threatened to jail the owners of factories that have stopped production. 
 
 A private supermarket chain and an electronic goods shop have been seized in recent years after Mr Maduro accused many businessmen of conducting an economic war in collusion with the country's opposition. 

 CARACAS (Reuters) - U.S.-based cereal maker Kellogg Co (K.N) on Tuesday pulled out of Venezuela due to the country’s deep economic crisis, and an angry President Nicolas Maduro said its units would be taken over and given to workers. 
 
 A box of corn flakes made by Kellogg is seen on a shopping cart inside a local shop in Caracas, Venezuela May 15, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso 
 
 Kellogg confirmed later on Tuesday that its manufacturing plant had been seized by the leftist government, the latest company to jump ship amid Venezuela’s tough business climate. 
 
 “I’ve decided to hand the company over to the workers so that they can continue producing for the people,” Maduro said at a campaign rally ahead of Sunday’s presidential election. 
 
 “We’ve begun judicial proceedings against the business leaders of Kellogg’s because their exit is unconstitutional,” Maduro added to cheers from red-shirted supporters. 
 
 Maduro blames Venezuela’s crisis on an “economic war” he says is waged by Washington, greedy businessmen and coup-mongers. 
 
 Kellogg announced its retreat earlier on Tuesday, making it the latest multinational to exit the oil-rich country, which is heaving under hyperinflation and strict price controls. 
 
 “The current economic and social deterioration in the country has now prompted the company to discontinue operations,” Kellogg said in a statement, noting that it had already written off the value of its Venezuela holdings. 
 
 The company’s local operations had around 400 workers, according to local media. 
 
 Kellogg did not specify the difficulties it was facing in Venezuela, but companies have typically been struggling to find raw materials due to product shortages and currency controls that crimp imports. Maduro’s government also stops companies from raising prices to keep up with hyperinflation, sometimes forcing companies to sell below the cost of production. 
 
 Other multinational companies that have given up on the OPEC country, abandoning assets or selling them cheap, include Clorox (CLX.N), Kimberly-Clark (KMB.N), General Mills (GIS.N), General Motors (GM.N) and Harvest Natural Resources. 
 
 Socialist Maduro has taken over the factories of some companies that have left the country. In 2014, authorities took over two plants belonging to U.S. cleaning products maker Clorox Co after its departure. 
 
 “This reminds me of the Clorox case,” opposition lawmaker Jose Guerra tweeted about Kellogg. “Operations halted due to lack of raw materials, the government took it over, and now it’s paralyzed.... So that means Corn Flakes are over.” 
 
 Kellogg warned against sales of its products or brands in Venezuela. 
 
 “Kellogg is not responsible for the unauthorized use of the commercial names and brands that are the property of the company and will exercise legal actions available as necessary,” the company said, adding it would like to return to Venezuela in the future.
– The Kellogg Company decided it had had enough of Venezuela—but Venezuela apparently hasn't had enough of Kellogg. Pointing fingers at the "deterioration" of the country's economic situation, the US cereal-maker announced Tuesday it was closing shop there, leaving 400 workers fresh out of a job, reports the Wall Street Journal. But soon after those employees walked into that news at the Kellogg factory in Maracay, Labor Minister Nestor Ovalles showed up to assure them the government was working to "ensure their rights and employment," with President Nicolas Maduro calling the closure "absolutely unconstitutional and illegal," the BBC reports. The government's remedy: It has seized the Maracay plant. "I've taken the decision to deliver the company to the workers in order that they can continue producing for the people," Maduro told supporters in Carabobo. Kellogg isn't the first company to ditch the beleaguered nation: Per Reuters, Clorox, General Mills, General Motors, and Kimberly-Clark have also bolted, with similar factory seizures. "The government maintains a noose around the private sector," leading to defections like Kellogg's, a local business chamber chief tells the Journal. "If there's no change in economic policies, there will be more closures." Kellogg, which has been in Venezuela for nearly 60 years and produces nearly all the nation's breakfast cereal, says it hopes to return there "as soon as the conditions of the country allow it" and insists its brands shouldn't be sold "without [its] expressed authorization." (Trump has banned Americans from using Venezuelan "petro" currency.)