Jobs will be saved at Grangemouth after Britain’s largest chemical plant received a £120 million government lifeline.
Ineos, the business empire owned by Manchester United investor Jim Ratcliffe, had looked at closing the ethylene plant at Grangemouth where it has recently shut the oil refinery with the loss of 430 jobs.
The Government has now stepped in to provide financial support for the ethylene plant that will protect 500 jobs.
The funding will help improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and increase productivity.
Ethylene is critical for medical-grade plastics and for use in the chemical supply chain, including water treatment.
The site had been at risk of closure due to high carbon taxes foisted on manufacturers.
Ratcliffe, who has criticised the UK government’s tax plans and announced he is investing in the US, said: “UK government support for Ineos’s investment shows the strategic importance of making things in Britain” adding that it “preserves the industrial capability the nation needs”.
ExxonMobil recently announced plans to close its Mossmorran ethylene plant in Fife in February, with 179 staff facing redundancy and another 250 contractors affected. Its managers will face MPs on the Scottish Affairs Committee today.
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