Ineos Cuts 235 Jobs, Shuts Two Rheinberg Units

Ineos said it will cut 60 jobs at its Hull acetyls plant and cut 175 jobs while shutting two production units in Rheinberg, Germany, as part of wider output reductions across its European operations. The company blamed sustained high energy and carbon costs, environmental compliance burdens and "unfairly low‑cost" or "dumped" Chinese imports for undermining competitiveness. Ineos executives, including Acetyls CEO David Brooks and Inovyn CEO Stephen Dossett, said they had explored alternatives but must protect remaining sites and seek urgent state support to cover local transition costs, particularly to preserve Rheinberg’s PVC operations. The Hull site has roughly 1.1 billion pounds of annual acetic acid capacity, and Ineos said its priority is to support affected workers and protect the long‑term future of the site. The UK government responded that industry is bearing a "fossil fuel penalty," noting wholesale gas prices remain far above pre‑Ukraine levels and pointing to measures to cut electricity costs and to the Trade Remedies Authority’s ability to investigate cheap imports, while Ineos warned further closures could follow if structural problems persist.