MORE than 20 workers at the mothballed Ensus bioethanol refinery at Wilton are in danger of losing their jobs.
The plant temporarily closed in February and the company kept the 100 staff on – but with no sign of it re-opening soon, up to 20 jobs may be lost.
Management said all options to avoid compulsory redundancies and to keep affected jobs to the minimum would be explored with employees and their representatives over the next four to five weeks.
The bio-refinery at Wilton has been mothballed due to continuing adverse market conditions across the European bioethanol industry and the Ensus parent company, CropEnergies, said earlier this year it was anticipating restructuring costs of up to 40m euro as a result of the temporary shutdown.
The company has said it anticipates it could take a year or more for the European market and prices to sustainably improve.
In the meantime, it said CropEnergies will keep the plant ready for a restart so it can act quickly once the market improves.
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