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HomeNewsLocal newsLimetree Bay Terminals Says Layoffs Planned for December

Limetree Bay Terminals Says Layoffs Planned for December

Limetree Bay Terminals on St. Croix, seen in April 2020, plans to cut its workforce by about 35 employees, it announced on Monday. (Source photo by Linda Morland)

Limetree Bay Terminals on St. Croix will cut its workforce by about 35 employees, or 28 percent, it announced in a news release on Monday.

Limetree Bay Terminals, LLC is restructuring the organization to position the company to remain viable in a competitive market as business activity has decreased following the indefinite closure of the Limetree Bay Refinery, the company said.

The refinery filed for Chapter 11 protection in July after a short-lived attempt to revive the circa 1960s St. Croix facility, previously owned by Hovensa. The company owes more than $1.2 billion to secured creditors, according to recent court documents. On Friday, it proposed new deadlines for the bidding and sale of its bankrupt oil refining operations that will be heard and likely approved in the Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of Texas on Wednesday, Sept. 15.

“Reorganizing Limetree Terminals will allow us to streamline operations and better position us to achieve the Company’s business objectives,” said Limetree Bay CEO Jeff Rinker said in the release. “This will enable us to continue to serve the St. Croix community as a provider of good jobs as well as work for local business partners.”

The last day of employment for workers affected by the cut will be Dec. 12, Rinker said. The company met on Monday with those affected by the change.

“We regret that, in these difficult circumstances following the closure of the refinery, we are no longer able to offer employment to these hard-working individuals,” said Rinker. “I am grateful to these employees who have made significant contributions to our terminal operations.”

Limetree Bay Terminals facilitates the storage, segregation, blending, and global movement of crude oils, fuel oils, bunker, gasolines, diesel, jet fuel, and liquid petroleum gases, according to the release.

Customers include integrated global oil majors, refiners, global trading houses, and the co-located refinery, Limetree said. The facility consists of 167 tanks, with a capacity of approximately 34 million barrels, and deep-water access to 11 docks including an offshore single point mooring buoy capable of loading and discharging vessels up to Very Large Cruise Carriers, or VLCC, size.

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