Biofuel giant Abengoa closes another ethanol plant, U.S. headquarters next

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Layoffs continue for international biofuel giant Abengoa, with at least one U.S. newspaper reporting that the company has already filed for bankruptcy. Pictured here is Abengoa’s 1-year-old ethanol plant in Hugoton, Ks., which was shut-down last week.Layoffs continue for international biofuel giant Abengoa, with at least one U.S. newspaper reporting that the company has already filed for bankruptcy. Pictured here is Abengoa’s 1-year-old ethanol plant in Hugoton, Ks., which was shut-down last week.

International biofuel giant Abengoa closed another ethanol plant in Kansas and is planning to shut down its U.S. headquarters in Missouri following reports on Friday that the company is undergoing financial restructuring as it carefully treads along the edge of bankruptcy.

However, the notion of bankruptcy is already a done deal according to The Wichita Eagle which reported today that Abengoa filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 25. The report, though, does not make clear if that filing took place in the U.S. or Spain, where the company is based. It is possible that a subsidiary of the large alternative energy company filed for legal protection in the U.S.

Following the closure of its ethanol plant in Hugoton, Ks. last week, Abengoa is now closing its U.S. headquarters in Chesterfield, Mo., along with an ethanol plant in Colwich, Ks., the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Monday.

Those layoffs cost 328 jobs. And the fallout could get worse. Critics of the U.S.-backed company contend its downward spiral may cost taxpayers hundreds of millions, or even billions of dollars.

Abengoa ceased operations at its ethanol plant in Hugoton, Kan. last week, which cost 45 jobs, according to The Wichita Eagle. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the company’s ethanol plant in Colwich, Kan. will also be shutting its doors.

Pre-bankruptcy talks for Abengoa were underway in Europe this past week. International audit firm KPMG is expected to soon report on Abengoa’s financial state, according to Reuters.

With company debt at $22 billion, biomassmagazine.com is reporting that Abengoa’s layoff extends worldwide.

The U.S. Department of Energy, according to watchdog.org, provided Abengoa $2.65 billion in loan guarantees.

Read HWT related stories: Ethanol plant closes in Kansas amid bankruptcy fears; EPA calls for more ethanol in the nation’s fuel supply