OI OI Glass Inc

CARACAS (AFP) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez late Monday announced the expropriation of the local affiliate of the U.S.-based glass maker Owens-Illinois Inc. (OI), accusing it of causing environmental damage and exploiting its workers.

The company "has had years exploiting the workers, destroying the environment" in the western state of Trujillo, "and taking away the money of Venezuelans," Chavez said during a government event broadcast on radio and television.

Owens-Illinois is a leader world glass bottle maker with some 22,000 workers in 21 countries.

In South America, aside from Venezuela it also has operations in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, and focuses on manufacturing glass containers, according to the company website.