The new German owners of a Bradford chemical site where 150 jobs are being axed have been accused of ripping the heart out of the plant.

Andy Irvine, GMB union convenor at the former Ciba speciality chemicals site at Low Moor, said workers were particularly shocked at the decision to close its research centre and focus such work in Germany.

He said: “This is a crucial part of the business that has provided us with new products over many years and the decision to close it down will rip the heart out of the site.

“It would not be easy for people to transfer to Germany even if the opportunity arose.

“The decision to close the research department which employs skilled scientific staff with up to 40 years’ service, is a body blow, even though after a take-over there is always uncertainty about the impact on existing jobs.

“This is the first time for a long while that we have had to deal with compulsory redundancies at Low Moor and will be working to ensure the best possible terms for our members. It is not a good time to be looking for another job.”

The move is part of a global restructuring of the Ciba business following its acquisition in April by BASF, the world’s largest chemicals group.

Mr Irvine said the 150 redundancies probably included about 40 people who had previously accepted voluntary redundancy from Ciba and should have minimal impact on production areas.

He believed most of the redundancies would not take effect before November and should be completed by the end of March, 2010.

He welcome BASF’s decision to make Bradford its global centre for water treatment products and hoped this would lead to further investment in the site in future.

Before acquiring Ciba, BASF did not produce water treatment chemicals and Bradford’s expertise in this area had probably helped to minimise the impact of the new owner’s rationalisation plans.

The integration of Ciba into BASF will result in nearly 4,000 job cuts by 2-13 and save the group £340m a year from 2012. BASF is considering whether to restructure, sell or close 23 of the 55 former Ciba production sites worldwide.

Dr Jürgen Hambrecht, chairman, has promised that decisions on the future of the former Ciba operations would be fair and transparent and the period of uncertainty would be kept to a minimum.