Bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis to axe 160 jobs

Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) has announced that it is to axe 160 jobs at its Scottish facilities at Falkirk and Larbert. The news comes just one month after the company said that up to 650 jobs were at risk at its sites in the UK.

ADL is Britain’s biggest bus builder (it manufactures buses under the Plaxton brand) and the world’s largest manufacturer of double-decker buses. It has a worldwide presence in the UK, Ireland, the USA, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand.

The Unite Scotland union says that the job losses will exceed 200 and that ADL’s parent company in North America – New Flyer Industries – is looking to outsource work to Turkey. The union has called on the Government to offer support to ADL in order to safeguard jobs and promised “to fight this every step of the way.” Unite is also urging the Government to bring forward an order for 4,000 low emission buses and for the Scottish Government to implement a recent recommendation of the Just Transition Commission to invest £500 million in the country’s transport infrastructure, part of which would be earmarked for the manufacture of green buses.