Versalis plastics plant closure threatens more than 100 Grangemouth jobs

More than 100 workers in Falkirk are at risk of losing their jobs due to the closure of a plastics plant.

Staff at the Versalis UK plant in Grangemouth are understood to have been told on Thursday about the closure.

The GMB union stated the decision would affect around 135 workers and that they are seeking the "best terms possible" for those affected.

Politicians have called for urgent talks with the site owners regarding the decision.

The plant manufactures rubber products and is part of the chemical division of Italian energy company Eni.

Dom Pritchard, GMB Scotland organiser, described the news as a "body blow" for staff.

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He said: "The impact of this decision will not only be felt by workers inside the plant but among suppliers and support staff.

"We will be continuing our discussions with the company and working tirelessly to ensure those workers losing their jobs receive the best terms possible."

The announcement came less than a month after the closure of Grangemouth oil refinery Petroineos was confirmed.

Scottish Green Party MSP Gillian Mackay, who has a Central Scotland list seat, described the news as "devastating".

"Coming ten days before Christmas Eve, the timing of this announcement is particularly cruel, plunging the immediate staff and all those who would be impacted by the decision into deep uncertainty ahead of the festive break," she said.

"We cannot have a situation where businesses opt to just up sticks and leave, abandoning the staff and the community that have supported them loyalty and skilfully over the years, without exhausting every possible alternative solution."

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