Type
Closure
Country
France
Region
Bassin Parisien; Haute-Normandie; Seine-Maritime
Location of affected unit(s)
Petit-Couronne
Sector
Manufacturing
Manufacture Of Coke And Refined Petroleum Products
Manufacture Of Coke And Refined Petroleum Products
19.2 - Manufacture of refined petroleum products

430 - 470 jobs
Number of planned job losses
Job loss
Announcement Date
16 October 2012
Employment effect (start)
5 November 2012
Foreseen end date
5 December 2012

Description

On 16 October 2012, the commercial court of Rouen decided the liquidation of the oil refinery Petroplus and rejected the two take-over offers. Normally the oil refinery employs 550 people, but on 20 October 2011 Petroplus announced the partial termination of its activities in Petit-Couronne, which resulted in 120 job cuts (see here). The company explained its decision by overcapacity in a highly competitive market.

Since June 2012, Petroplus resumed its activities on a temporary basis, after the signature of a six-month contract with its former owner, the group Shell. The court gave the green light to pursue their activities until 5 November. If no buyer is found until then, the liquidator will dismiss all remaining employees (430-470 workers).

It is the fourth announced oil-refinery closure in France in recent years, after Total (see here), Petroplus Reichstett (see here) and LyondellBasell (see here). The CGT union believes that this trend is accompanied by an increase in imports of refined petroleum products.


Sources

Citation

Eurofound (2012), Petroplus, Closure in France, factsheet number 74351, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/74351.