The UK chemical industry faces significant challenges as Ineos reduces staff at Hull and closes plants in Germany, citing unfair competition from Chinese coal-based products and high EU energy expenses.
London — Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos is to cut a fifth of jobs at a plant in the English city of Hull in East Yorkshire, accusing “dirt-cheap” imports from China and high energy costs.
It said it’s going to cut 60 jobs on the Ineos Acetyls site, which makes petrochemical products such as acetic acid, and said more roles across the industry will be at threat without government intervention.
Bosses stated “carbon-heavy” imports from China are “flooding the market” when they were blocked from entering the United States because of recent tariffs.
Ineos referred to as on the United Kingdom government and European Commission to release their own tariffs so as 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 8 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 until action is taken.
It comes only months after Ineos close down processing at its oil refinery in Grangemouth in Scotland, hitting round 400 jobs.
On Monday, Ineos disclosed plans to close 2 plants in Germany because of high chemical sector costs in the EU.
David Brooks, chief executive of Ineos Acetyls, stated: “This is a very hard time for everyone on the Hull facility.
“We have a leading-edge, efficient and properly-invested site and the team here is highly professional, expert, and dedicated.
“Making the decision to cut 60 roles was not taken gently.
“We have explored every feasible option however in the face of sustained pressure from energy costs, combined with unfairly low-price imports into the UK and Europe, we’ve been left with no other choice.”
