Ineos cites 'dirt-cheap' imports from China as it cuts 60 jobs in Hull

Ineos, the chemicals company owned by the billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is to cut a fifth of jobs at its East Yorkshire plant, blaming "sky high" energy costs and "dirt-cheap" imports from China.

- Julia Kollewe

The company, founded in 1998 by Ratcliffe, who also co-owns Manchester United FC, said it would cut 60 jobs at the Acetyls site in Hull, which makes petrochemical products such as acetic acid. It said more roles would be at risk across the industry unless the government stepped in.

Ineos said "dirt-cheap carbon-heavy" imports from China were "flooding the market" in Britain and the rest of Europe, after they were deterred from entering the US because of Donald Trump's tariffs.

It claimed that many Chinese competitor products made using coal emitted up to eight times more CO2 than Ineos's UK operations, saying that "more sites will close and thousands more jobs will be lost" across the chemicals sector if "the UK government and European Commission do not support tariffs to protect its industry".

In June, the London-based petrochemicals company closed its Grangemouth plant, Britain's oldest oil refinery, on the Firth of Forth with the loss of 400 jobs.