Alexander Dennis to close Scottish manufacturing plants

Bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis is set to close its Falkirk and Larbert facilities in Scotland, as it looks to consolidate its UK bus body manufacturing operations into a single site in Scarborough, England.

The company’s manufacturing facility in Falkirk is set to be shut down and the site closed, while production lines at Larbert will also be suspended upon the completion of current contracts.

Alexander Dennis said “up to 400 roles” are “at potential risk of redundancy”. This represents around 22 per cent of its workforce.

Alexander Dennis said the “refocused strategy results from the completion of a detailed business review and is intended to adjust the business to changing market dynamics”.

It added that the proposed structure “will lower overall costs, deliver clearer responsibilities and increase efficiency by removing duplicate functions and activities”.

The company expects a follow-on impact in its domestic supply chain, where it has spent over £1 billion in the last five years with its 1,000 suppliers in all parts of the UK.

For every job in bus manufacturing, there is a multiplier of three to four jobs in the wider supply chain and support services, according to Alexander Dennis.

Paul Davies, Alexander Dennis president and managing director, said: “We are proposing a new UK manufacturing strategy to underpin financial sustainability and lower operating costs in the face of changing and challenging market dynamics.

“We must take significant action to drive efficiency to allow our operating model to be competitive.

“It is extremely regrettable that as part of this, we must place jobs at potential risk of redundancy and propose to cease manufacturing operations at some of our facilities.”