{"id":385212,"date":"2025-06-26T20:37:35","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T18:37:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=385212"},"modified":"2025-06-26T20:38:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T18:38:09","slug":"major-chemical-factory-shuts-days-after-starmer-unveils-industrial-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=385212","title":{"rendered":"Major chemical factory shuts days after Starmer unveils Industrial Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Move puts 300 jobs at risk and highlights threat of crippling energy prices<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The owner of one of Britain\u2019s biggest chemical plants has confirmed it will close, dealing a blow to Sir Keir Starmer<\/a>\u2019s new Industrial Strategy just days after it was launched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saudi Aramco-owned Sabic said on Wednesday that it had decided to shut the\u00a0Olefins 6<\/a>\u00a0\u201ccracker\u201d facility in Teesside permanently following a review of \u201ccompetitiveness\u201d. The Telegraph<\/a> has the story.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It comes after the company had paused a major conversion of the plant to run on gas feedstock, sparking speculation that bosses were on the verge of announcing its closure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move puts about 300 local jobs at risk and underscores the strain faced by Britain\u2019s chemicals industry as a result of crippling energy prices<\/a> and a tough global market<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will also be seen as a blow to the Government\u2019s\u00a0Industrial Strategy<\/a>, published on Monday, which describes chemicals as one of the \u201cfoundational\u201d sectors that underpins the rest of the economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lord Houchen, the Tees Valley Mayor, said the decision was \u201cincredibly concerning and a devastating blow to our region\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: \u201cThis is yet another symptom of a national policy failure. If ministers are serious about industrial growth, we need action not platitudes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat means cutting the cost of doing business by tackling sky-high energy prices, reversing the damaging increase in National Insurance that hits both workers and employers, and putting our industrial regions at the heart of economic policy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Prime Minister has vowed to tackle high electricity prices, promising to lower bills for energy-intensive industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, industrialists such as Sir Jim Ratcliffe<\/a>, the owner of petrochemicals empire Ineos, have warned that many businesses are also struggling with high gas prices and carbon taxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The owner of one of Britain\u2019s biggest chemical plants has confirmed it will close, dealing a blow to\u00a0Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s new Industrial Strategy just days after it was launched.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":385218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691836089,691836090,691834849,691827760],"class_list":{"0":"post-385212","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-energy-price-cap","9":"tag-olefins-6-cracker","10":"tag-prime-minister-sir-keir-starmer","11":"tag-saudi-aramco","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-17.-Juni-2025-09_22_59-1.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1Cd6","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":402052,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=402052","url_meta":{"origin":385212,"position":0},"title":"Keir 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