Overview
- Administrators have notified 125 employees their roles will end on October 31, with 255 workers retained on site, and some staff were told after overnight shifts that unions condemned as inhumane.
- The refinery has been in administration since June 30 under the Official Receiver, with Teneo appointed as administrator and FTI Consulting managing the site.
- Multiple bids are being assessed, Unite says there are at least two offers to keep refining, and a local MP says an outcome is expected in mid to late October.
- Energy minister Michael Shanks says most jobs are expected to continue beyond October and the government has funded a training guarantee for affected workers.
- Local leaders and Unite are pressing for transparency and intervention, including publishing the ‘credible bid’ criteria and pausing the process, as legal actions progress with a £150m asset freeze on former owner Winston Soosaipillai.