Ineos blames cheap Chinese imports and high energy costs as it cuts 60 jobs in Hull

"Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe's petrochemicals group Ineos has announced plans to cut 60 jobs at its Hull Acetyls plant in East Yorkshire, citing "dirt-cheap, carbon-heavy imports from China" and "sky-high" UK energy costs."

"David Brooks, divisional chief executive of Ineos Acetyls, said the decision was "not taken lightly" but that the business had been left with "no other choice" in the face of "sustained pressure from energy costs" and unfair competition from low-cost Chinese imports."

""This is a textbook case of the UK and Europe sleepwalking into deindustrialisation," Brooks said. "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 will cut 60 jobs at the Hull Acetyls plant, representing about a fifth of the site workforce, citing low-cost Chinese imports and high UK energy costs. The move follows earlier closures, including the Grangemouth refinery, which caused hundreds of job losses. Ineos warns the UK chemicals sector is being crippled by anti-competitive trade practices and says stronger trade and energy policies are needed to prevent further closures. The Hull plant recently received a £30 million investment to convert to hydrogen and produces acetyl chemicals used in pharmaceuticals, adhesives and industrial coatings.

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