Chemicals giant INEOS has revealed plans to slash 20% of its workforce in East Yorkshire, citing soaring energy expenses and Chinese imports as the driving forces behind the devastating move.
The group owned by billionaire industrialist Sir Jim Ratcliffe's confirmed it is eliminating 60 skilled positions at its Acetyls facility near Hull, after exhausting "every possible alternative". The company is urging both the º£½ÇÊÓƵ Government and European Commission to intervene, highlighting "anti-competitive trade practices" whereby importers are 'dumping' products into British and European markets.
Management argue that inexpensive carbon-intensive imports from China, manufactured using coal and generating up to eight times more carbon dioxide than INEOS's domestic operations, are currently saturating the marketplace. The business employs 300 people locally whilst sustaining hundreds more via its supply network, reports .
These Chinese goods have been prevented from entering the United States through tariffs but encounter no commercial obstacles in Britain or Europe. The redundancy announcement arrives mere weeks after we disclosed how INEOS had committed £30m at the Hull facility to transition from natural gas to hydrogen, reducing emissions by 75%.
The Saltend INEOS Acetyls plant and acetic acid manufacturer stands as Europe's largest producer of its type, and recent years have witnessed it make substantial progress in cutting its emissions, with the switch equivalent to removing 160,000 vehicles from Britain's roads. The firm is now cautioning that without protective trade tariffs for the º£½ÇÊÓƵ chemicals sector, additional British jobs could be eliminated across the industry.
David Brooks, CEO 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 º£½ÇÊÓƵ and Europe, we've been left with no other choice. Our priority now is to support those affected and protect the long-term future of the site."
INEOS praised the º£½ÇÊÓƵ Government's recent reversal on its decision to penalise the Hull facility under the º£½ÇÊÓƵ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) but stated that issues remain unaddressed.
Mr Brooks said: "This is a textbook case of the º£½ÇÊÓƵ and Europe sleepwalking into deindustrialisation. INEOS has invested heavily at Hull to cut CO2, yet we're being undercut by China and the US while left wide open by a complete absence of tariff protection. If governments don't act now on energy, carbon and trade, we will keep losing factories, skills and jobs. And once these plants shut, they never come back."
INEOS is the leading producer of acetic acid, acetic anhydride, and ethyl acetate in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ and Europe. These chemicals are vital for a wide range of applications, from food preservation and pharmaceuticals such as aspirin and paracetamol, to diagnostic tests, adhesives, and industrial coatings.
