Grangemouth's smokestacks hulked over a silent sprawl of machinery tonight as refinery owner Ineos's "sign or be sacked" ultimatum loomed.

The fates of hundreds of workers' jobs hang in the balance as the Morning Star went to press, just minutes before the company's deadline demanding their workforce agree to drastic cuts to pay and pensions.

The company told the refinery's 1,350 workers they had until tonight to consider new terms - including axing their final-salary pension, frozen wages until 2017, and cuts to shift allowances, overtime pay, holidays and redundancy terms.