HOUSTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Lyondell Basell Industries'

will lay off 345 workers at its shuttered Houston

refinery on April 17, according to a filing with the Texas

Workforce Commission.

There are around 400 Lyondell employees working at the

263,776 barrel-per-day-capacity Houston refinery. About 70% of

them are hourly workers represented by the United Steelworkers

union (USW).

Reuters reported on February 18 that Lyondell Houston

refinery layoffs were expected to begin in mid-April.

A Lyondell spokesperson did not reply to a request for

comment.

The workforce reduction comes after Lyondell completed the

shutdown of the Houston refinery earlier this month, people

familiar with plant operations told Reuters.

Houston Refining is one of the largest refineries in the

United States designed to process heavy-sulfur crude oil,

according to the company.