When the refinery last operated before the 2016 shutdown, it employed roughly 700 workers.
Those jobs mattered — and every household tied to them mattered. But the bigger question is whether a refinery is still a scalable economic engine for Aruba today.
Modern refining is capital-intensive, centralized, and vulnerable to external shocks. It creates limited jobs relative to the long-term risk it brings to a small island.
Meanwhile, Aruba already has thousands of people active in cultural and creative work — artists, musicians, designers, filmmakers, event producers, makers, digital creators, technicians, educators, and creative entrepreneurs.
With the right structure, policy support, and investment, this can become a stronger export economy: distributed, resilient, and aligned with Aruba’s identity and tourism direction.
The question is not whether jobs matter.
The question is which model builds lasting opportunity.