A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge has tentatively approved the sale of the Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) refinery to a Chicago real estate company, whose original and revised bids were several million dollars lower than other offers.
Hilco Redevelopment Partners, which builds warehouses on old industrial sites, has already stated that it intends to close the refinery and create a mixed-use industrial park. The 1,300-acre South Philadelphia site once employed more than 1,100 skilled laborers who were largely left behind in the corporate bailout.
PES was the largest refinery on the East Coast and remained vitally important not just for national security but simply for domestic energy production.
If you are writing about the bankruptcy decision, please find the following statement by Kurt Knaus, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Energy Infrastructure Alliance:
“What the bankruptcy court did here today was pick winners and losers. The winners are the corporate executives who get to keep million-dollar bonuses and a buyer without a strong commitment to local workers from organized labor. The losers are the 1,000-plus hardworking men and women who gave everything they had to their jobs. What a shame that so many people have turned their back on our proud industrial heritage and the men and women who built it.”
The loss of work affects those directly employed at the facility, plus more who are hired through contractors. The jobs of several thousand other workers employed by businesses that supply and service the refinery also will be imperiled.
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For more than four years, the Pennsylvania Energy Infrastructure Alliance has advocated for the safe, responsible development of critical infrastructure. For more information:
Online: www.paallianceforenergy.com
Twitter: @PAllies4Energy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PAllies4Energy