SNP and Labour blame each other amid jobs risk at Alexander Dennis

Over a hundred jobs are at risk at bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis, despite the company receiving financial support from the Scottish Government.

A £4m first-of-its-kind furlough scheme was announced by ministers in September after the firm announced plans to relocate its manufacturing operations out of Scotland, which would have resulted in 400 job losses.

Now the firm has said up to 115 roles are at risk of redundancy under new plans, though some skilled manufacturing and support jobs have been saved.

Both the SNP and Labour have accused one another of not doing enough to prevent any job losses.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has criticised ministers for not delivering a pipeline of work to the firm.

The Scottish Government confirmed last week that it was awarding £45m as part of its latest Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund. While it did include an award to Alexander Dennis, a larger amount was handed to a Chinese bus manufacturer.

Sarwar said: “Just six days ago, John Swinney used Scottish taxpayers’ money not to stand up for Scottish workers, but to subsidise jobs halfway around the world.

“John Swinney’s failure on buses – like his ferry fiasco – is both bad leadership and bad economics. These avoidable job losses should be on his conscience and have happened on his watch.

“Instead of being stronger for Scotland, John Swinney and the SNP have been stronger for China.”

But Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said the UK Government had not delivered its promise to reform procurement and subsidy control legislation to allow the direct award of contracts.

She said: “The UK Government has been sitting on its hands when it comes to the policy levers which would make a vital difference to order numbers at Alexander Dennis and support domestic bus manufacturing in Scotland.

“Labour ministers are shamefully silent on the promises they made, including changes to current procurement rules which favour foreign competitors, something the Scottish Government and trade unions have consistently called for.”

Alexander Dennis first announced plans to close its facilities in Falkirk and Larbert in June last year, with operations to move to England.

The plans were halted after Scottish ministers stepped in with a six-month furlough scheme to protect jobs while other opportunities were found. Alexander Dennis indicated to the Scottish Government that it believed it could obtain enough orders.

The firm has today announced it is consulting on alternative plans which would retain 350 roles in Scotland. It intends to convert its Larbert facility into a chassis manufacturing site, while its Falkirk facility would close.

Paul Davies, Alexander Dennis managing director, said: “This new approach would enable us to better align with the current market whilst improving our efficiency. It also allows us to continue to adapt to rapidly changing and challenging market dynamics.

“We remain grateful to the Scottish Government for the furlough scheme support to secure these jobs, maintaining skills and manufacturing capability in central Scotland. We will continue to work with the Scottish Government, its agencies and the trade unions to support staff during the consultation period.”

The Scottish Conservatives have described the news as a “devasting blow” for Falkirk.

Local candidate Neil Benny said: “The SNP have let workers down in Falkirk. Instead of buying Scottish-made buses, they are using taxpayers’ money to import busses from China.”

Unite the Union, which represents the workforce at the company, said both governments had been “woeful” in response to the decision.

General secretary Sharon Graham said: “They have enabled Alexander Dennis’ decision with half of the new bus orders going to a Chinese company instead of boosting Scottish green manufacturing and supply chains. Unless there is urgent action to stop these job losses then this political weakness and failure should not be forgiven.”