Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos has cut a fifth of jobs at its Hull chemical plant, blaming net zero and competition from coal-fuelled Chinese imports.

Some 60 roles are being axed at the Ineos Acetyls factory in Hull, which is Europe’s largest producer of acetic acid, acetic anhydride and ethyl acetate. These are vital raw materials for a multitude of products including food preservatives, medicines, paints and detergents.

Ineos warned that rising energy costs linked to green levies and competition from Chinese companies that face no such taxes were making the plant uneconomic.

Two other plants in Germany are being closed for similar reasons. Stephen Dossett, the Ineos executive overseeing these operations, said Europe was “committing industrial suicide”.

Ineos warned: “This is a textbook case of the UK and Europe sleepwalking into deindustrialisation. Once these plants shut, they never come back.”

The company said the job losses were “a direct result of sky-high energy costs and anti-competitive trade practices ”.

It added: “Dirt-cheap carbon-heavy imports from China, produced using coal and emitting up to eight times more CO2 than Ineos’s UK operations, are now flooding the market.

“These Chinese products have been blocked from entering the US by effective tariffs but face no trade barriers in the UK or Europe.”

Sir Jim, British-born but living in Monaco, is the founder and chief executive of Ineos, thought to be Britain’s biggest private company.

The industrialist made a multi-billion pound fortune buying up unloved factories, allowing him to purchase a significant stake in his beloved Manchester United.

However, Ineos’ UK operations have recently been hit hard by the surging cost of energy, especially for gas, as chemical production requires large amounts of heat.

It recently shut down its oil refinery in Grangemouth, Scotland, and has warned that the adjacent chemicals plant – which has been loss-making for several years – is also under threat.

Ineos recently invested £30m at the Hull site to switch from natural gas to hydrogen, cutting emissions by 75pc – the equivalent of taking 160,000 cars off the road.

However, the upgrade coincided with a surge in imports from China, which has stuck with the traditional cheap but dirty approach of burning coal to make both the carbon monoxide and the heat needed for producing chemicals.

David Brooks, chief executive of Ineos Acetyls, said: “Making the decision to cut 60 roles was not taken lightly. We have explored every possible alternative but in the face of sustained pressure from energy costs, combined with unfairly low-cost imports into the UK and Europe, we’ve been left with no other choice.”

Ineos also confirmed plans to shut two production units in Rheinberg, Germany, with the loss of 175 jobs, citing “crippling energy and carbon costs and a lack of tariff protection”.

Ineos Inovyn, the division running the two German plants, said both produced chemicals that were essential to European industry.

Its allylics unit makes the key ingredient for epoxy resins vital in defence, aerospace, cars and renewable energy infrastructure – while the nearby electro chemical facility produces chlorine crucial for clean water, medicines, industrial processes and sanitation.

Mr Dossett, chief executive of Ineos Inovyn, said: “Europe is committing industrial suicide. While competitors in the US and China benefit from cheap energy, European producers are being priced out by our own policies and absence of tariff protection.

“Meanwhile, high-emission imports flood our market unchecked. It’s completely unsustainable.”

The chief executive added: “We’ve reached the point where well invested, efficient European plants are closing while global emissions rise . It’s not just economic madness. It’s environmental hypocrisy.”

Steve Elliott, the chief executive of The Chemical Industries Association, said: “We are paying billions in levies and taxes imposed on energy bills meaning strategic industries, like ours, are fast disappearing.

“Between 2021 and 2024, carbon emission within the chemical industry has reduced by 38pc and with it, production has fallen by almost exactly the same amount.

“It’s decarbonisation through de-industrialisation and, to rub more salt into the wound, the UK’s imported emissions have doubled with emissions associated with imports from China at their highest in over two decades.”

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Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos has cut a fifth of jobs at its Hull chemical plant, blaming net zero and competition from coal-fuelled Chinese imports.

Some 60 roles are being axed at the Ineos Acetyls factory in Hull, which is Europe’s largest producer of acetic acid, acetic anhydride and ethyl acetate. These are vital raw materials for a multitude of products including food preservatives, medicines, paints and detergents.

Ineos warned that rising energy costs linked to green levies and competition from Chinese companies that face no such taxes were making the plant uneconomic.

Two other plants in Germany are being closed for similar reasons. Stephen Dossett, the Ineos executive overseeing these operations, said Europe was “committing industrial suicide”.

Ineos warned: “This is a textbook case of the UK and Europe sleepwalking into deindustrialisation. Once these plants shut, they never come back.”

The company said the job losses were “a direct result of sky-high energy costs and anti-competitive trade practices ”.

It added: “Dirt-cheap carbon-heavy imports from China, produced using coal and emitting up to eight times more CO2 than Ineos’s UK operations, are now flooding the market.

“These Chinese products have been blocked from entering the US by effective tariffs but face no trade barriers in the UK or Europe.”

Sir Jim, British-born but living in Monaco, is the founder and chief executive of Ineos, thought to be Britain’s biggest private company.

The industrialist made a multi-billion pound fortune buying up unloved factories, allowing him to purchase a significant stake in his beloved Manchester United.

However, Ineos’ UK operations have recently been hit hard by the surging cost of energy, especially for gas, as chemical production requires large amounts of heat.

It recently shut down its oil refinery in Grangemouth, Scotland, and has warned that the adjacent chemicals plant – which has been loss-making for several years – is also under threat.

Ineos recently invested £30m at the Hull site to switch from natural gas to hydrogen, cutting emissions by 75pc – the equivalent of taking 160,000 cars off the road.

However, the upgrade coincided with a surge in imports from China, which has stuck with the traditional cheap but dirty approach of burning coal to make both the carbon monoxide and the heat needed for producing chemicals.

David Brooks, chief executive of Ineos Acetyls, said: “Making the decision to cut 60 roles was not taken lightly. We have explored every possible alternative but in the face of sustained pressure from energy costs, combined with unfairly low-cost imports into the UK and Europe, we’ve been left with no other choice.”

Ineos also confirmed plans to shut two production units in Rheinberg, Germany, with the loss of 175 jobs, citing “crippling energy and carbon costs and a lack of tariff protection”.

Ineos Inovyn, the division running the two German plants, said both produced chemicals that were essential to European industry.

Its allylics unit makes the key ingredient for epoxy resins vital in defence, aerospace, cars and renewable energy infrastructure – while the nearby electro chemical facility produces chlorine crucial for clean water, medicines, industrial processes and sanitation.

Mr Dossett, chief executive of Ineos Inovyn, said: “Europe is committing industrial suicide. While competitors in the US and China benefit from cheap energy, European producers are being priced out by our own policies and absence of tariff protection.

“Meanwhile, high-emission imports flood our market unchecked. It’s completely unsustainable.”

The chief executive added: “We’ve reached the point where well invested, efficient European plants are closing while global emissions rise . It’s not just economic madness. It’s environmental hypocrisy.”

Steve Elliott, the chief executive of The Chemical Industries Association, said: “We are paying billions in levies and taxes imposed on energy bills meaning strategic industries, like ours, are fast disappearing.

“Between 2021 and 2024, carbon emission within the chemical industry has reduced by 38pc and with it, production has fallen by almost exactly the same amount.

“It’s decarbonisation through de-industrialisation and, to rub more salt into the wound, the UK’s imported emissions have doubled with emissions associated with imports from China at their highest in over two decades.”

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Ineos also confirmed plans to shut two production units in Rheinberg, Germany, with the loss of 175 jobs, citing “crippling energy and carbon costs and a lack of tariff protection”.

Ineos Inovyn, the division running the two German plants, said both produced chemicals that were essential to European industry.

Its allylics unit makes the key ingredient for epoxy resins vital in defence, aerospace, cars and renewable energy infrastructure – while the nearby electro chemical facility produces chlorine crucial for clean water, medicines, industrial processes and sanitation.

Mr Dossett, chief executive of Ineos Inovyn, said: “Europe is committing industrial suicide. While competitors in the US and China benefit from cheap energy, European producers are being priced out by our own policies and absence of tariff protection.

“Meanwhile, high-emission imports flood our market unchecked. It’s completely unsustainable.”

The chief executive added: “We’ve reached the point where well invested, efficient European plants are closing while global emissions rise . It’s not just economic madness. It’s environmental hypocrisy.”

Steve Elliott, the chief executive of The Chemical Industries Association, said: “We are paying billions in levies and taxes imposed on energy bills meaning strategic industries, like ours, are fast disappearing.

“Between 2021 and 2024, carbon emission within the chemical industry has reduced by 38pc and with it, production has fallen by almost exactly the same amount.

“It’s decarbonisation through de-industrialisation and, to rub more salt into the wound, the UK’s imported emissions have doubled with emissions associated with imports from China at their highest in over two decades.”

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.