Ineos has warned that progress towards low-carbon production could come at the expense of British jobs without urgent government action on energy prices and trade protection.

The company said that high UK energy costs have left its plant uncompetitive compared with countries benefiting from cheaper industrial power and gas.

Meanwhile, “dumped” Chinese imports have flooded the market with ultra-cheap, coal-based acetyl products, such as acetic acid, the firm’s statement said.

These high-emission imports, which face tariffs in the US but not the UK or EU, have reportedly undercut European producers, forcing cost-cutting measures and job losses.

Ineos warned, “Unless firm action is taken, more sites will close and thousands more jobs will be lost, not only at Hull but across the UK and European chemical industry.”

Ineos Acetyls CEO, David Brooks, said 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,” he explained.

“Our priority now is to support those affected and protect the long-term future of the site.”

The cuts come less than a year after Ineos completed its switch from natural gas to hydrogen at the Hull site.

Despite the step forward, the company now warns that without trade defence measures such as tariffs, this progress could come at the expense of British jobs.

The transition to hydrogen, however, was mired in regulatory and financial uncertainty.

In June, the company warned that it could lose millions in free UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) allowances after the Environment Agency considered reclassifying the site as a “new installation,” which would have delayed eligibility for allowances until 2028.

Ineos described the potential loss as a £23m ($30.8m) “cash drain” at a time when the plant is already under threat from high energy costs and cheap, high-carbon imports.

Nevertheless, the government later reversed its position, allowing the site to retain its ETS eligibility. However, Ineos said structural problems remain unresolved at the plant.

“This is a textbook case of the UK and Europe sleepwalking into deindustrialisation,” Brooks continued.

“INEOS has invested heavily at Hull to cut CO₂, yet we’re being undercut by China and the US while left wide open by a complete absence of tariff protection.

“If governments don’t act now on energy, carbon and trade, we will keep losing factories, skills and jobs. And once these plants shut, they never come back.”