Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos is to cut a fifth of jobs at a plant in Hull, East Yorkshire, blaming “dirt-cheap” imports from China and high energy costs.
It said it will cut 60 jobs at the Ineos Acetyls site, which makes petrochemical products such as acetic acid, and said more roles across the industry will be at risk without government intervention.
Bosses said “carbon-heavy” imports from China are “flooding the market” after they were blocked from entering the US due to recent tariffs.
Ineos called on the UK government and European Commission to launch their own tariffs in an effort to stop China from undercutting local competitors with stronger environmental credentials.
It claimed that many competitor products from China are made using coal and emit up to eight times more CO2 than Ineos’s UK operations.
The firm warned that “more sites will close and thousands more jobs will be lost” across the chemical industry unless action is taken.
It comes only months after Ineos shut down processing at its oil refinery in Grangemouth, in Scotland, hitting around 400 jobs.
On Monday, Ineos revealed plans to shut two plants in Germany due to high chemical sector costs in the EU.
David Brooks, chief executive of Ineos Acetyls, said: “This is a very difficult time for everyone at the Hull facility.
“We have a leading-edge, efficient and well-invested site and the team here is highly skilled, professional, and dedicated.
“Making the decision to cut 60 roles was not taken lightly.
“We have explored every possible alternative but in the face of sustained pressure from energy costs, combined with unfairly low-cost imports into the UK and Europe, we’ve been left with no other choice.”
