"This is a tragic day. It's a shameful event" - Kenny MacAskill on the Grangemouth Redundancy Letters

Responding to the news that hundreds of workers are being made redundant at Grangemouth Oil Refinery, Acting ALBA Party Leader, Kenny MacAskill has said:

"This is a tragic day. It's a shameful event and one which we had hoped would never occur. This will be the beginning of the end unless something is done to preserve Scotland's industrial base.

"We have a UK Government who is intent on shutting down the North Sea and is now allowing Grangemouth refinery to close. The Scottish Government has been missing in action since the news of potential job losses broke in November 2023.

"It is utterly perverse that the UK Government are still investing hundreds of millions of tax payers money in a Petroineos plant in Belgium yet they can't find a penny to save Grangemouth refinery.

"The knock on effects of this closure will be felt beyond just those receiving redundancy notices. This will devastate companies in the supply chain and local businesses around the plant. The pain will be felt not just in Grangemouth or the Forth Valley but across all of Scotland.

"The UK and the Scottish Government must take action to keep this refinery open. There can be no 'Just Transition' that doesn't bring the workforce along with it."