A total of 125 workers are to be made redundant after administrators were appointed at one of Britain’s few remaining oil refineries.
The losses come despite attempts to find a buyer for the business following the collapse of its owner, energy conglomerate Prax Group, which triggered the receivership process at the Lincolnshire site.
A further 255 employees will remain at the site out of 420 directly employed staff and 500 contract workers.
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At least two bids to buy and operate the location with a full workforce were received, union Unite said.
“We understand that this is a very difficult time for all those affected by this decision, and the Insolvency Service will fully support employees subject to redundancy via the redundancy payments service,” the government-run Insolvency Service said.
“The site remains safe, and the official receiver continues to prioritise health and safety at the site alongside the ongoing process to secure the sale of the refinery.
Government support for the refinery could be provided, which could keep it running, Unite said.
As a result, the government is “responsible for the redundancies”, it said.
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Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The government has been tin eared to the plight of workers at the second oil refinery facing closure in less than a year.
“This makes a mockery of government promises to protect workers and its plan for net zero.”
The refinery’s biggest creditors are His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and oil company Glencore, which Unite said “can wait for the more complicated but far less damaging process of maintaining the site as an oil refinery”.
With the possible closure of Lindsey, the UK could lose another 20% of its refining capacity, meaning further reliance on imports and global supply chains.
In the 1970s, the UK had 18 operational oil…
