Job losses at Texaco plant

Texaco says it wants to cut costs

Texaco has confirmed it is to shed more than 100 jobs at its Pembroke oil refinery over the next two years.

Around 15% of the workforce will be made redundant following what it described as a "re-organisation" of the company.

The massive Texaco refinery produces a fifth of all petrol used in Britain.

Redundancies are due to begin at the end of this year, and will continue into 2004.

The oil refinery will stop production for six weeks during September and October as maintenance work is carried out.

Equipment will also be upgraded as part of a £113m investment in the plant.

Workers were told last week that the jobs were being lost.

On Friday a Texaco spokesman in Pembroke said there was nothing they could do.

"Everybody is at it. If you look around the oil industry it's the way things are going."

Pembrokeshire has the fifth-highest unemployment rate in Wales.

2,000 people - 3% of the working population - are unemployed, according to the latest JobCentre Plus figures.

The welsh average is 2.5%.