Lyondell to lay off 86% of workforce at Houston refinery soon to close, filing shows

By Georgina McCartney

HOUSTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Lyondell Basell Industries' LYB.N will lay off 345 workers at its shuttered Houston refinery on April 17, according to a filing with the Texas Workforce Commission.

There are around 400 Lyondell employees working at the 263,776 barrel-per-day-capacity Houston refinery. About 70% of them are hourly workers represented by the United Steelworkers union (USW).

Reuters reported on February 18 that Lyondell Houston refinery layoffs were expected to begin in mid-April.

A Lyondell spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment.

The workforce reduction comes after Lyondell completed the shutdown of the Houston refinery earlier this month, people familiar with plant operations told Reuters.

Houston Refining is one of the largest refineries in the United States designed to process heavy-sulfur crude oil, according to the company.