A chemical company in Israel is closing down, and laying off all 800 of its employees.
According to a report in Reuters, Haifa Chemicals’ CEO said the company had not found a way to maintain operations after it was forced to empty the ammonia tank the company uses to make fertilizers.
In February, the city’s mayor published a report arguing that any accident or attack on the tank could endanger the lives of the 600,000 people living nearby. Located near the city’s port, the massive tank has the capacity to hold 12,000 tons of ammonia.
Within a few weeks, the city ruled that the tank would need to be emptied out.
So far, the country has yet to find alternate location for an ammonia tank where it could be built a safe distance away from a populated area.
“To our distress, after tremendous efforts, we reached a point where we will not be able to maintain the company’s activity in Israel,” the company’s CEO wrote.
Haifa Chemicals is owned by Trance Resource Inc., a U.S. holding company Reuters reports is controlled by Trump Group (which is not related to President Donald Trump).