Grangemouth petrochemical plant to close

Dark · Post by **Dark** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 11:42 am

Well that's put an industrial sized spanner in Alex's plans........ the refinery could be next.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-24631342

tut · Post by **tut** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 11:48 am

Does'nt the ape work there?

tut

Dominic · Post by **Dominic** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 11:52 am

tut wrote:Does'nt the ape work there?

tut

Yup

j2 lot · Post by **j2 lot** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 11:59 am

Sad news but not unexpected after the events over the last week or so.

I hope a buyer can be found and the closure is averted.

Post by **Shug** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 12:17 pm

Does Ape work in the petro side, or the refinery though? From what I've read, the refinery keeps going but the petrochemical treatment plant closes.

flyingscot68 · Post by **flyingscot68** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 12:42 pm

Shug wrote:Does Ape work in the petro side, or the refinery though? From what I've read, the refinery keeps going but the petrochemical treatment plant closes.

Refinery will stay open for now.
The closure of the chemicals side is a bigger can of worms than most people probably realise. It has implications for the entire UK, I can't believe the government have allowed it to come to this.

RDH · Post by **RDH** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 1:03 pm

flyingscot68 wrote:
Shug wrote:Does Ape work in the petro side, or the refinery though? From what I've read, the refinery keeps going but the petrochemical treatment plant closes.
Refinery will stay open for now.
The closure of the chemicals side is a bigger can of worms than most people probably realise. It has implications for the entire UK, I can't believe the government have allowed it to come to this.

I don't think it's got anything to do with the government! Union versus Private Company.

j2 lot · Post by **j2 lot** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 1:41 pm

RDH wrote:I don't think it's got anything to do with the government! Union versus Private Company.

You would think so but it has far reaching implications, you only need to look at the next story on the BBC news :-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-s ... s-24635281

'Chemical sales drive export growth'

'The data shows that refined petrol and chemicals account for nearly a quarter of manufactured goods sold to the rest of the world.'

'"These latest figures reinforce continued global demand for Scottish products, particularly those within the engineering, textiles, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors.'

Wee 'Ecks baw is about to burst - game over

Rosssco · Post by **Rosssco** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 1:48 pm

But who's to blame - hard-nosed multinational who isn't willing to pump more money into a non-profitable asset, and are using an existing dispute to alter employment terms, or unrealistic unions who won't accept that changes need to made to ensure survival..

Sounds in some ways like the debt crisis going on in the US government last week where neither would give any ground, and nearly ended in disaster, except in this case both of them lose, with the employee's the ones who suffer the most..

flyingscot68 · Post by **flyingscot68** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 3:47 pm

RDH wrote:I don't think it's got anything to do with the government! Union versus Private Company.

It has everything to do with government as it's closure is a major financial disaster for the economy, not just of Scotland.

r10crw · Post by **r10crw** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 4:03 pm

Surely depends on the cost to every UK individual should it close compared to the cost to every individual should the government keep it open.

tut · Post by **tut** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 6:52 pm

I only have what I see or read of the dispute to go by, but surprised that the workers would vote themselves out of a job in the present economic conditions, as opposed to seeing it through until things improve.

If there is a genuine worry about safety standards, then that is a different ball game, and though I do not know the details of the Pensions dispute, a large percentage of the UK workforce have been hit by diminishing Pension Funds, especially with most firms scrapping the final salary scheme.

tut

RDH · Post by **RDH** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 8:15 pm

flyingscot68 wrote:
RDH wrote:I don't think it's got anything to do with the government! Union versus Private Company.

It has everything to do with government as it's closure is a major financial disaster for the economy, not just of Scotland.

Ok, to clarify, the government haven't interfered as it was the unions negotiating with a private company. Why should a private co continue to operate at a £10m loss per month? So it wasn't the government "letting" it happen IYSWIM
Ineos need to make radical restructures to cut costs.
I'm not saying it won't have an impact, just that it's neither fat 'eck or Cameron's fault.

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 8:22 pm

It's ok, Len McClusky's job is safe, right?

neil · Post by **neil** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:13 pm

I get the impression Ineos are being a bit creative with their figures. £10 million a month loss is hard to believe. Interesting read on it here - http://wingsoverscotland.com/grangemout ... -as-known/

Scottish Elises