Lindsey Oil Refinery job cuts spark fresh calls for government action

The government’s facing pressure after one hundred and twenty five people have lost their jobs at Lindsey Oil Refinery in North East Lincolnshire.

MP Martin Vickers says the government should have offered more support to keep the refinery open, rather than leaving the UK to depend on imported fuel.

He says he's continuing to urge the government to step in.

Martin said:

"Clearly this is bad news, the threat of redundancies has been hanging over the employees at LOR since the announcement in July. For those individuals and their families this is a massive blow but it’s also a major blow to the local economy.

"The Government could and should have done more. They should have provided funding to maintain production for a much longer period allowing more time to assess potential investors, including at least one that was interested in maintaining refining capacity.

"The Government has been hiding behind the Receiver. The Receiver’s job is to maximise return for the creditors but the Government and its agencies such as HMRC are the biggest creditor.

"To rely on imports when refining capacity exists in the UK is madness. For a Labour government to refuse to support British jobs and make the country more reliant on foreign imports and risk higher prices for the consumer is a disgrace.

"There is no doubt that this decision has been made at the highest level: The Prime Minister and the Chancellor along with Energy Secretary Ed Miliband are responsible and instead of hiding behind the Receiver they should come forward and explain to the workers at LOR why they are casting their jobs to one side. "

Energy Minister Michael Shanks commented in the wake of 125 redundancies announced.

Energy Minister Michael Shanks said: 

“Our thoughts are with the workers, their families and the community who have been badly let down by Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery’s owners.

“The Official Receiver has made this independent decision now in order to provide employees with as much notice as possible, while concluding the sales process in the coming weeks. The majority of the workforce will be retained beyond the end of October and we remain hopeful that a solution will be found that supports jobs on the site long-term.

“The Official Receiver is independently assessing potential bids for the future of the refinery and its assets and has made clear he will continue to work with all bidders with credible and deliverable proposals.

“We have taken immediate action to fund a Training Guarantee for refinery workers to support them to find new, secure, long-term jobs, including in the growing clean energy workforce. Employees affected by redundancy will have the opportunity to enrol in this scheme from October.”

It is understood the redunancies announcement follows a thorough assessment of offers for the refinery. It was deemed necessary to announce redundancies that will be effective from October 31, 2025. This reflects the fact that offers put forward did not provide a deliverable transaction that would see a return to refining operations in the near term, which would require all employees to be retained.