CF applies to close ammonia plant in UK
By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on August 1, 2023.
https://www.medicinehatnews.com@MedicineHatNews CF Industries has applied to permanently close ammonia production at a United Kingdom site that it idled last year due to skyrocketing natural gas prices in Europe. The company’s site at Billingham, in northern England, would still produce ammonium nitrate and nitric acid fertilizer with imported ammonia “just as its done” since ammonia production was halted in August 2022, according to a company release. The change would result in the permanent layoff of 38 workers, a level that requires negotiations with union officials under UK labour standards. In the spring of 2022, CF closed its production plant in Chester and began importing ammonia to Bellingham in response to a war-driven rise in natural gas prices that pushed production costs to double the wholesale price of product. That resulted in 300 layoffs. 7-6
