Chemical firm could quit UK site risking 100 jobs
HuntsmanA global chemical company is considering closing one of its last remaining UK sites because of a "hostile business environment".
Bosses at Huntsman, which employs about 100 people, could decide by next week whether to close its Wilton plant in Redcar.
Chairman and chief executive officer, Peter Huntsman, said if economics remained "uncompetitive" the firm would have to look at "long-term options" outside the UK.
A government spokesperson said: "Ministers regularly meet with the industry and are working with them to understand the impact of the situation in the Middle East and explore potential solutions."
The company manufactures aniline, a raw material used to make polyurethanes, which goes into home building materials, planes, cars, furniture and trainers.
Huntsman said four years ago the UK produced the "cheapest aniline" but now it cost two to three times more than producing the material overseas including in China, North America and the Middle East.
He said a "very hostile business environment" made up of a combination of "incredibly" high energy prices, raw materials and labour costs, as well as taxes and delays in the UK government decision-making process, had contributed to its challenges.
HuntsmanHuntsman said sourcing basic raw materials in the UK was five to seven times higher than overseas.
He said he had spoken to the government about the challenges and was told to use clean, homegrown power, which lacked clarity and that it needed to come up with "viable solutions".
He said his father brought the business to the UK in 1974 and he felt "very badly" about the current situation.
He said: "I've spent years of my life living in Europe and my children have lived in the UK.
"My grandchildren have been educated off and on in the UK."
In the last five to six years, he said the company had sold or shut down about 80% of UK assets.
UK has 'greatest workforce'
He added that leaders in the UK promised "pipe dreams" that were not affordable or clean, and that the government's green alternative plans were not coming to fruition.
He also said "the greatest workforce in the world was in the UK" but it was "being squandered".
The government spokesperson said: "We know this is a tough time for our chemicals industry, who are paying the fossil fuel penalty.
"The best way to tackle this is getting on to clean, homegrown power to bring down bills for good."