The petrochemical plant at the giant Grangemouth complex in central Scotland is to close with the loss of about 800 jobs, owner Ineos has announced.
The news was broken to the workforce at the plant and its associated oil refinery at a meeting on Wednesday.
Ineos said a decision on whether to restart the refinery would be taken once the "threat of strike action" had been removed.
Scotland's first minister said the closure "matches our worst fears".
About 800 of the 1,370 people directly employed at the complex work at the petrochemical plant, with many more working there as contractors.
Close to tearsThe dispute at the plant, near Falkirk, began over the treatment of a union official and escalated to the threat of strike action.
This was dropped but the operator shut down the plant and issued an offer of revised terms and conditions in a "survival plan", which was rejected by union members.
Workers leaving the staff meeting, which lasted about 20 minutes, told the BBC the decision to close the plant was "shocking".
One member of staff claimed that Grangemouth Petrochemicals chairman Calum Maclean had been "smiling" when he made the announcement.
The closure of the petro-chemical plant puts the refinery at risk, and is a major blow to many manufacturers in which the plants have been a vital part of the supply chain.
Official figures today showed refined oil and chemicals were one of the main drivers of growing Scottish exports this year. That sector, in which Grangemouth has been dominant, was worth £3.7bn last year.
If much of that is thrown into reverse, with imports required instead of exports earnings, it will have a significant impact on the cost of sourcing materials from elsewhere, and potentially on the UK's trade figures.
Among other big questions that arise: what, if anything, is the government doing about security of refining supply?
Another worker, who did not want to be named, said: "I feel sick. It's gone. There's no livelihoods left and we don't even know if we're going to get redundancy out of it. I hope they're happy with themselves."
The worker, who appeared close to tears at points, said he could only listen to about 10 minutes of the meeting, before he felt he had to leave.
He went on: "There are folk in there have a husband and wife work here. That's it. Folk will be lucky if they have a house at Christmas."
Ineos said liquidators for the petrochemical plant would be appointed within a week.
Ineos chairman and founder Jim Ratcliffe had said at the weekend that if the petrochemical plant closed it was likely the refinery would go as well.
The refinery provides most of the fuel to Scotland, the north of England and Northern Ireland.
In a statement released after the staff meeting, Ineos said: "The company made it clear that rejection of change would result in closure. Regrettably, the union advised union members to reject any form of change.
"The outcome of the employee vote on the company's survival plan was a 50/50 split.
"Within this, almost all of the administrative staff voted for the company's plan but a large majority of shop floor employees voted to reject it.
Hundreds of workers at Scotland's largest industrial complex filed in to hear their fate in near silence.
When they emerged after a short meeting on the grounds of the Grangemouth plant some seemed stunned and were reluctant to speak.
Others were much more vocal, accusing Ineos of betrayal.
A few workers in bright orange dirt-stained overalls even seemed close to tears: tough men facing a difficult future, dreading the call to tell their families.
But this isn't just a disaster for the workers. According to the Scottish government, the complex as a whole contributes around a billion pounds a year to the economy.
Ministers in Edinburgh and London are now working furiously to find an alternative future for the petrochemicals plant.
If they can't it will be a long hard winter for many workers here in Grangemouth.
"The shareholders met yesterday to consider the future of the business following the result of the employee vote.
"Sadly, the shareholders reached the conclusion that they could not see a future for Grangemouth without change and therefore could no longer continue to fund the business."
The company added: "As a result of this decision, the directors of the petrochemicals business have had no option but to engage the services of a liquidator. It is anticipated that a liquidation process will commence in a week."
Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said the closure of the petrochemical plant was the "outcome that matches our worst fears".
Mr Salmond added: "I will be speaking again to management and unions today to try and seek any further resolution we can. I will also convene an emergency cabinet meeting with relevant ministers later today to discuss the on-going situation.
"In preparing for this extremely difficult position we have been pursuing the contingency of potential buyers - we will now be actively exploring this as the main option as a matter of urgency.
"The Scottish government strongly believes the site has a positive future and we will continue to work with the UK government and all other parties concerned to find a solution that supports the workers affected and the wider Scottish economy."
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Workers at the plant hear about their future
Ministers - including the Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael and the Energy Secretary Ed Davey - are meeting in London to decide on a response to the decision.
Mr Davey said he was "saddened" to hear of the closure, particularly because of the impact it will have on the workforce and local community.
He added: "Ineos have informed us that the refinery will stay open and the management wish to restart full operations as soon as possible. We stand ready to help with discussions between the management and the union to ensure this can happen."
Mr Davey said fuel supplies continued to be delivered as usual and there was no current risk of disruption to supplies.
He added: "I continue to work very closely with the Scottish government, and other colleagues across government to share information with them."
However, Downing Street has indicated there will be no bailout for Grangemouth, and that it was up to the company and the trade unions to resolve the dispute.
Pay freezeWorkers at the site had been given until 18:00 on Monday to agree to the changes, which included a pay freeze and downgrading of pensions.
Unite said half of the 1,370-strong workforce had rejected the proposed changes to contracts.
The company has said the plant, which has been shut down for a week because of the dispute, is losing £10m a month.
Ineos has said it is ready to invest £300m in Grangemouth, but only if workers agree to the new terms and conditions.
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