© Supplied by Altrad 
The Olefins 6 facility, Saudi Arabian firm Sabic’s petrochemicals plant, is set to close in a move deemed “a disgrace” by unions.
The facility located in Wilton, Teesside, has not been in operation since 2020; however, workers have been paid to keep the plant safe and to have it ready to come back online for future operations for the past five years.
The site, which produces the raw material ethylene, was set to be converted to run entirely on gas feedstocks.
Sabic reported a £300 million profit in 2024, but last month, it was reported that it was potentially going to sell its European petrochemicals business due to high energy costs.
Unite the Union general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is a disgrace that valued workers are being threatened with redundancy by a profitable company.”
Consultation for the workers impacted, of which there are understood to be 330, is set to start next week on 1 July.
© Tayfun Salci/ZUMA Press Wire/ShuTees Valley mayor, Ben Houchen, took to social media to share his sympathy for the “workers, contractors and families affected by Sabic’s decision to close the Olefins 6 plant”.
Houchen said: “My organisation will stand ready to support those impacted by the decision – but it’s clear that support from local partners alone is not enough.
“We urgently need a proper response from government, starting with a targeted support package for affected workers and families, and a clear plan for how we retain and grow industrial jobs in areas like Teesside.”
He argued that the move to close the site was “yet another symptom of national policy failure” as he pointed to the lack of reference to the chemicals industry in the government’s recent Industrial Strategy.
Houchen said the omission was “beyond indefensible”.
Unite regional officer Fazia Hussain-Brown said: “The potential loss of so many jobs in the area is a devastating blow to our members and their families, as well as the local economy.
“Unite will be actively engaging with Sabic throughout this consultation process, using all of the resources available to support our members.”
Teesside Freeport let down
This is not the first time that the north-east of England has been left out of government plans.
Under the previous Conservative government, the Teesside Freeport Project was snubbed.
The mayor claimed that the initiative could have brought 18,000 jobs to the region. Unite the Union also objected to the decision.
Hussain-Brown added: “The Teesside community was promised more jobs in the local area, but this never happened.
“This means our members at Sabic have few options for where they can find alternative employment, and understandably, there is a lot of anger due to this.”
Grangemouth concerns
© Jane Barlow/PA WireThis comes amid concerns over the future of the Grangemouth petrochemicals plant following owners PetroIneos’ decision to close the site’s oil refinery.
This move is set to result in 400 people losing their jobs and has prompted government engagement and union outrage.
Under Project Willow, a Scottish and UK government initiative, a £1.5m feasibility study was conducted that examined low-carbon alternative uses for Grangemouth.
Project Willow produced a report which claimed a series of clean energy projects at the Grangemouth refinery could create around 800 jobs over the next 15 years.
The UK and Scottish governments also launched a Grangemouth Just Transition Fund, which saw £200m coming from Westminster in addition to the £25m from Holyrood.
Despite this, unions have accused the government of failing to prevent the closure in the first place.
Graham has argued that Westminster and Holyrood “utterly failed to protect refinery jobs at Grangemouth and thousands face losing their jobs as oil refining in Scotland ends”.
