The Scottish government said it will do "all it can" to secure the future of chemical firm Syngenta's Grangemouth plant after the company announced plans to close the site.

Economy Secretary Stephen Flynn told MSPs he was "profoundly" disappointed at the firm's announcement last week which has put almost 400 jobs at risk.

It later emerged Syngenta collected £1m of Scottish Enterprise funding to create new jobs but it has pledged to pay the money back if the site closes.

Flynn said that neither the Scottish or UK governments were informed of the Syngenta board's proposal on the site's future ahead of last week's announcement.

The firm, which manufactures chemicals used for the protection of crops, announced that it plans to cease all operations at the site by the end of 2027.

The company said it had been unable to make its business at the plant "competitive" in the face of "increasing international competition".

The Scottish Enterprise money was part of £2.2m awarded to Syngenta in May last year to expand production at the plant.

Flynn said: "I want to place on the record my profound disappointment at the decision to enter into consultation with the workers, which adds further urgency to cross-government work to secure a positive future role for Grangemouth." He said the Syngenta workforce had made a "valuable contribution to Scotland's chemicals manufacturing sector".

Flynn added: "It is in this spirit that I give workers at Syngenta my assurance that this government will do all it can to secure a future for the site by working with the company, other businesses and key stakeholders to explore every option for continued operations over the coming months." Flynn said that Syngenta had publicly stated that it was open to explore opportunities at the site and that a final decision had not been taken.

He added: "I can only take the company at its word." Flynn said "many of the challenges" identified by Syngenta lay outside devolved powers.

He said: "I have also written to the UK government to urge them to take meaningful action for Grangemouth, in particular Syngenta." Industrialisation Minister Blair McDougall said last week that the UK government would continue to work closely with Syngenta to explore all options for the site and the workforce.

Meanwhile, the Unite union has demanded "decisive action" from the Scottish government to protect jobs at the site.

Scott Foley, industrial officer at the union, said: "Further meetings are scheduled with Syngenta where we will press the case for a pause in the closure plans until every option is fully explored.

"Unite is fully committed to supporting our members at Syngenta and those employed within the contractor base and wider supply chain." Syngenta said it had undertaken a "detailed review" of its Grangemouth operation ahead of the announcement.

It said the Grangemouth site was "significantly more expensive" to operate than other production facilities.

Mike Hollands, president of Syngenta UK, said: "The workforce at Grangemouth is highly skilled and passionate, but despite all efforts, we have not been able to make the Grangemouth site competitive compared to alternative supply options."