The Labour Government has confirmed that hundreds of jobs at energy giant ExxonMobil remain at risk after the company revealed plans to shut down its Fife Ethylene Plant at Mossmorran.
Chris McDonald MP, Minister for Industry, made an emergency statement this evening and confirmed the Government would not be providing more funding to keep the site open and viable.
Mr McDonald asserted he was speaking speaking to union Unite and ExxonMobil to ensure support for workers affected by the closure of the site.
He shared: "Despite tireless, inventive and determined work from both Government officials and Exxon, the challenges facing the site were ultimately insurmountable..
The energy giant confirmed plans to close the site earlier today
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"The decision for Government not to provide financial or bespoke policy support was communicated to Exxon by my right honourable friend the Business and Trade Secretary, but we have of course retained an open dialogue with the company throughout."
Under the previously announced plans, the Fife Ethylene Plant at Mossmorran would close in February, in a move placing around 200 jobs at risk
In a statement, a spokesperson for ExxonMobil said: "We plan to shut down our Fife Ethylene Plant in February 2026, subject to a full employee consultation.
"We considered various options to continue production and tested the market for a potential buyer, but the UK’s current economic and policy environment combined with market conditions, high supply costs and plant efficiency do not create a competitive future for the site."
David Torrance, SNP MSP for Kircaldy, told The National: "The Labour Government has known this was coming since April but, just like at Grangemouth, has done absolutely nothing to find a solution.
"It seems to be becoming the norm that Labour will step in to save industrial jobs in England but sit on their hands and let hundreds of skilled Scottish workers lose their livelihoods."
Reacting to the news, Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said it was also "crucial” that Labour ministers at Westminster “consider what more they can do for the workers at the plant and take urgent action".
She spoke out at Holyrood hours after ExxonMobil announced its ethylene manufacturing plant, which produces the base material for many plastics, is expected to close in February.
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Kate Forbes has urged the UK Government to do more
| PAThe move puts 179 workers directly employed at Mossmorran at risk, along with the jobs of 250 contractors – although there is the possibility of 50 staff transferring to the Fawley Petrochemical Complex almost 500 miles away in Hampshire.
ExxonMobil described its Fife Ethylene Plant as being "a cornerstone of chemical production in the UK for 40 years”,
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