Grangemouth chemical producer Syngenta took £1m of enterprise funding before announcing job losses

A chemical manufacturer based at Grangemouth took £1m of public money before announcing plans to cease all operations.

Syngenta were offered more than £2m of Scottish Enterprise funding, which was to be used towards a project to expand production at its local site, of which the firm took £1m.

However, the Chinese-owned firm announced that it has started formal consultations with trade unions and 377 members of staff.

The company said it had been undertaking a detailed review of the Grangemouth plant and found it to be “significantly more expensive” to operate than its other production sites.

Syngenta said it would pay back the Scottish Enterprise funding in full, should operations cease at the site.

A Syngenta spokesperson said: “Scottish Enterprise’s grant was awarded in support of a capital investment of close to £15m that Syngenta itself has made at the site as part of efforts to diversify activity and try and secure the site’s future.

“To date we have received around half of the grant allocation (about £1m), which we intend to repay in full to Scottish Enterprise if we cease operations at Grangemouth post consultation.”

MP Brian Leishman has urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to intervene STV News

In a week where Andy Burnham spoke of the damage done to the country by deindustrialisation, Brian Leishman, Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth said the area embodies that.

He has urged the Prime Minister to “do the right thing” and save the site.

“There has to be real industrial leadership on show here,” he said.

“We’ve got a new Prime Minister who I’m completely behind.

“He talks a phenomenal game on reindustrialising forgotten ex-industrial heartlands.

“Come to Grangemouth, Prime minister, speak to my constituents, listen to me, let’s build Grangemouth for the future.”

Secretary of State for Scotland Douglas Alexander said: “As soon as the UK Government was made aware of this situation, we began exploring every option alongside the Scottish Government to support the site at pace.

“This is ultimately a commercial decision for Syngenta, a company facing a number of global challenges, but we will do everything we can to support those affected.

“We are working hand-in-hand with the Scottish Government to secure long-term jobs for the industrial cluster. Grangemouth’s future lies in becoming a hub for industries supporting local jobs and we will not let up in our efforts to deliver that.”