THE Scottish Government has responded after a major bus firm unveiled plans to close its manufacturing site in Falkirk and move to England as part of a reshuffle which is putting 400 jobs at risk.
On Wednesday, Alexander Dennis announced it will look at consolidating its UK bus body manufacturing operations into a single site in Scarborough, England.
The proposal would mean its Scottish-based manufacturing site in Falkirk, which has already been reduced in recent years, would be discontinued and closed.
Around 400 roles are at risk of redundancy, approximately 22% of Alexander Dennis's UK workforce.
The Scottish Government has since responded to the announcement, with Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes saying it was "a worrying time" for the staff, their families and the wider community.
Forbes (below) said: “In recent weeks, the Scottish Government has engaged extensively with Alexander Dennis and its parent company NFI to understand the issues and ensure that every possible avenue is explored to mitigate the need for redundancies.
“This has included discussions with myself, the First Minister, leadership within Scottish Enterprise and Transport Scotland and the UK Government.
“The Scottish Government will continue to explore any and all options throughout the consultation period to allow the firm to retain their hard-working employees and manufacturing and production facilities at Falkirk and Larbert.
“In the event of any job losses, the Scottish Government will provide support through our Partnership Action for Continuing Employment initiative.”
Meanwhile, First Minister John Swinney wrote on Twitter/X: "This will be an incredibly worrying time for workers at Alexander Dennis and their families.
"The Scottish Government will leave no stone unturned and explore all options that could protect jobs and manufacturing at Larbert.
"We stand ready to support anyone affected."
Alba leader Kenny MacAskill said the loss of 400 jobs would be "unacceptable and the impact on the town of Falkirk and surrounding communities would be devastating, especially coming hard on the heels of Grangemouth closing". "It is perverse when Scotland is awash with renewable energy and is the base for the UK’s green hydrogen that a company specialising in Hydrogen buses is forced to relocate elsewhere," he added.
Scottish Labour MP for Falkirk, Euan Stainbank, claimed the "reality is the company has not had a consistent pipeline of work because the SNP has been selling out Scottish workers by buying too many buses from abroad".
“Greater Manchester bought more than five times as many buses from Alexander Dennis in Falkirk than the entire Scottish government scheme to date. That is an astonishing industrial failure from the SNP," he said.
