Fears are growing that the shutdown of ExxonMobil’s Altona oil refinery will trigger a domino-like series of closures of petrochemical businesses in Melbourne’s west, causing the loss of up to 2000 jobs as well as critical manufacturing capability and fuel security.

About 300 jobs are directly impacted by the closure, which was confirmed by the US major on Wednesday, but the indirect impact on administrators, contractors and manufacturers that rely on the 72-year-old refinery for business means the effect will be much broader, Australian Workers’ Union national secretary Daniel Walton said.