The petrochemical plant at the giant Grangemouth complex in central Scotland is to close.
Ineos made the announcement following a meeting with the workforce at the plant and its associated oil refinery.
The facility has been shut for a week due to an ongoing dispute between Ineos and the Unite union.
The company said a decision on whether to restart the refinery would be taken once the "threat of strike action" had been removed.
The refinery provides most of the fuel to Scotland, the north of England and Northern Ireland.
About 800 people are employed at the petrochemical plant, with more employed as sub-contractors. Workers leaving the staff meeting, which lasted about 20 minutes, told the BBC the decision was "shocking".
End Quote Ineos statementSadly, the shareholders reached the conclusion that they could not see a future for Grangemouth without change and therefore could no longer continue to fund the business"
Ministers - including the Scotland Secretary Alistair Carmichael and the Energy Secretary Ed Davey - are meeting in London to decide on a response to the decision.
Ineos chairman and founder Jim Ratcliffe had said at the weekend if the petrochemical plant closed it was likely the refinery would go too.
In a statement released after the staff meeting, Ineos said: "The company made it clear that rejection of change would result in closure. Regrettably, the union advised union members to reject any form of change.
"The outcome of the employee vote on the company's survival plan was a 50/50 split.
"Within this, almost all of the administrative staff voted for the company's plan but a large majority of shop floor employees voted to reject it.
"The shareholders met yesterday to consider the future of the business following the result of the employee vote.
"Sadly, the shareholders reached the conclusion that they could not see a future for Grangemouth without change and therefore could no longer continue to fund the business".
Pay freezeThe company added: "As a result of this decision, the directors of the petrochemicals business have had no option but to engage the services of a liquidator. It is anticipated that a liquidation process will commence in a week."
Calum MacLean, chairman of Grangemouth Petrochemicals chairman, said: "This is a hugely sad day for everyone at Grangemouth.
"We have tried our hardest to convince employees of the need for change but unsuccessfully. There was only ever going to be one outcome to this story if nothing changed and we continued to lose money.
"We still struggle to comprehend what has happened here. The employees were offered a chance to secure substantial new investment in the company, preserve their jobs and keep their salaries. Sadly this will no longer be the case."
Workers at the site had been given until 18:00 on Monday to agree to the changes, which included a pay freeze and downgrading of pensions.
'Other players'Unite said half of the 1,350-strong workforce had rejected the proposed changes to contracts.
The two sides have been embroiled in a bitter dispute for weeks, initially over the treatment of Unite convenor Stephen Deans, who was involved in the row over the selection of a Labour candidate in Falkirk, where he is chairman of the constituency party.
He was suspended, then reinstated, and is facing an internal investigation, which is due to report on Friday.
The dispute has since widened to the future of the entire site, with Ineos warning that it will close without fresh investment and changes to pensions and other terms and conditions.
The company has said the plant, which has been shut down for a week because of the dispute, is losing £10m a month.
Ineos has said it is ready to invest £300m in Grangemouth, but only if workers agree to the new terms and conditions.
Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney revealed on Monday that the Scottish government had been trying to find a buyer for the site, and has had discussions "with other players".
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