Versalis progresses closure of Grangemouth synthetic rubber plant

London – Eni group company Versalis has started the redundancy process as part of its closing its synthetic rubber facility in Grangemouth Scotland, according to the GMB trade union.

With around 135 employees, the Scottish site had world-scale capacity to produce polybutadiene rubber and solution styrene butadiene rubber.

“The first tranche of redundancies started this month with the process scheduled to be completed in December,” Dominic Pritchard, organiser at trade union GMB Scotland told ERJ.

Pritchard was, however, fulsome in this praise for Versalis management’s handling of the process, both before and after the closure decision was made.

The company “did not walk away from its responsibilities to the workforce,” said Pritchard  – contrasting this with less helpful responses he has seen at many other major employers in such situations.

Versalis, he said, closely engaged with the workers at an early stage in establishing that it would not be economically feasible to transition the facility infrastructure in order to keep the plant running.

The company “really stepped up to the plate and been very supporting and sympathetic to the employees,” commented the union official.

Versalis has linked the Grangemouth closure to a severe downturn in demand and challenging market outlook for elastomer products from the plant, as well increased energy prices and other production costs. (Related ERJ report)