Redundancy letters being sent to Grangemouth refinery workers

More than 400 staff at Scotland’s only oil refinery are learning they have been made redundant.

Owners Petroineos plan to close the Grangemouth refinery in the spring and establish an import terminal, with the majority of workers receiving letters on Wednesday to say they have lost their jobs.

STV News understands that of about 500 staff, some 65 are due to be kept on to work at the new terminal operation.

The job losses are set to take effect in a time span of three to 18 months. It is understood only a small number of redundancies are mandatory.

‘National disgrace’

Trade union Unite criticised the move to issue workers with redundancy notices.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is a quite frankly a national disgrace that Petroineos has been allowed to press ahead with this needless act of industrial vandalism.

“There is a clear plan for the future of Grangemouth in place. Yet the UK and Scottish governments are missing in action.

“Just last week the UK government announced the expansion of Heathrow and said that sustainable air fuel (SAF) will be needed. Well Grangemouth can produce SAF – where is the joined up thinking?

“It is clear the company is acting in the national interest in China. Who is acting in Britain’s interest – who has got Britain’s back?

“This the moment for the government to lead and stand up to Petroinoes in the national interest. Petroinoes must allow the transition to SAF and biofuels.

“If the company refuses the government should be the investor of first resort. There will be 3,500 per cent increase in SAF demand. The market is there.

“Today’s announcement will not deter us. We will fight for the future of the refinery and the associated jobs.”

Michelle Thomson, the MSP for Falkirk East, blamed the UK Government for Wednesday’s developments.

She told STV News: “I am so angry about it and I am shocked as well and that might sound surprising because we’ve all suspected this was going to happen.

“But nevertheless, here we are in the position where a huge number of people are going to lose their jobs. It’s going to have an effect on the local area, it’s going to have an effect right across the central belt of Scotland and yet here we are, we’ve got a void with nothing properly in place.

“I extend my sympathy to the workers but I have to say my first reaction is one of huge anger that we are in this position.

“The UK Government said ‘vote Labour’ to save the refinery, that was plastered all over the leaflets and they have been missing in action. We could have already started the process – the transition to deal with sustainable aviation fuel, where is that? We do not know.

“And I also have been pressing very hard for the Scottish Government to do the work to protect the skills base because these guys that are at threat of redundancy, their first imperative is to find another job fast and what will that mean for any kind of just transition?”

Grangemouth is the only operating crude oil refinery in Scotland and one of only six remaining in the UK.

It supplies around 80% of the country’s fuel but refinery operations are expected to cease this spring.

Petroineos, a joint venture between PetroChina and INEOS, said the site would become an import and distribution hub.

Brian Leishman, the Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, said: “Despite my repeated warnings and best efforts, my worst fears have come to pass with the news that redundancy letters are now going out to highly skilled workers at Grangemouth refinery.

“I campaigned on this issue and have been working tirelessly on it since being elected, speaking with unions and pressing ministers on the issue numerous times.

The Labour leadership may have given up on saving the jobs at the Grangemouth refinery but I haven’t.

The leadership must deliver on the election promise of stepping in & saving the jobs.

Because if they don’t, then their industrial strategy is worthless. The fight goes on.
— Brian Leishman (@BrianLeishmanMP) February 5, 2025

“Despite promises made during the election, the Labour government has not moved quickly enough to secure a future for the refinery.

“I always said the findings of Project Willow will not be ready anywhere near quickly enough before jobs are lost.

“The complacency shown by both the UK and Scottish governments has been appalling.

“This closure will have devastating consequences with the effects reverberating around the whole of Scotland.

“Grangemouth refinery has been a cornerstone of the country’s industrial economy and the government should have stepped in to manage its transition with strategic investment that could have allowed it to play a leading role in the UK’s clean energy transition.

“What is happening is the opposite of a ‘just transition’ to greener alternatives. Jobs have been lost, instead of saved.

Gillian Mackay, the Scottish Greens MSP for Central Scotland, grew up just 200 yards from the refinery.

She said: “This is a brutal blow for Scotland, but particularly for the community I grew up in and the workers who I know well. I know how hurt the community feels at this time; my thoughts are with everyone.

“All of us in the town know somebody who is employed directly or indirectly by the refinery. They’re the ones now suffering. Many people will be extremely worried and possibly angry about what will happen next. I am too, I feel the same.”

“This is the opposite of the just transition that is needed for the site and for Grangemouth. We have known for a long time that change is needed.

“The workers at Grangemouth are some of the most talented and skilled anywhere in Scotland, they must be at the heart of shaping Scotland’s green industrial future. Scotland deserves better; what is happening in Grangemouth is a warning sign for the lack of government support for the just transition in Scotland.

“Our community has yet again been let down by both governments. Politicians of all parties need to step up and work with trade unions and the community to do everything they can to support local people.”

A spokesperson for Petroineos said: “From Q2 this year, Grangemouth will be ready to operate as a national fuel distribution hub that ensures Scotland’s supply of finished fuels is protected.

“The process of safely transitioning the site from a refinery into a import terminal is underway and will continue over a number of months.

“Fully winding-down and dismantling the refinery is anticipated to take around five years in total, so the new terminal business will operate in parallel with this process.”