The owners of the Grangemouth refinery are in line to receive tax breaks despite cutting 400 jobs at the facility.
In November of last year Petroineos - made up of Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos and Chinese oil company PetroChina - announced that it would stop manufacturing at the site by 2025, converting it instead into a storage facility.
Last month the company confirmed that the closure would take place no later than June 2025, with the loss of around 400 jobs and potentially many more in its supply chain.
As reported by The Scotsman though, the fact Grangemouth lies within the boundaries of the Forth Green Freeport means Petroineos will be eligible for tax breaks.
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Scottish Labour MSP Richard Leonard said: "It is a company that is now seeking more money — seed capital — through the freeport initiative for land preparation at its Grangemouth site.
“Where we have a corporation that is preparing to steal these workers’ jobs with one hand while reaching out to grab public money with the other, it is about time that we started using the leverage that we have.
“It is about time that we started standing up to PetroChina, Ineos and the other oil multinationals, and it is about time that we started holding to account the Jim Ratcliffes of this world.”
Scottish Greens MSP Gillian Mackay, said: “To hear last week that Ineos are teed up to pocket an extra £6m profit from the refinery closure, and now it is confirmed they are also in line for further tax breaks on the site is utterly repugnant.
“This is a huge blow to the workers who are facing an uncertain future while their current employer gets another benefit.
“There may be government support offered to help workers find employment, but Ineos claims it’s ‘business as usual’ after the transition of the Grangemouth site takes place. How can it be ‘business as usual’ without the same workforce who turn their blood, sweat and tears into profits?”
A spokesperson for Petroineos said: “Grangemouth is ideally placed to become a hub of low-carbon manufacturing but there are real regulatory, fiscal and economic barriers to unlocking the massive capital investment required to realise this.
“That is why we welcome the UK and Scottish governments’ commitment to undertake a joint study – Project Willow - to rapidly explore the full range of low-carbon options that could be developed at Grangemouth.”
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