Unite says 1600 Scots jobs at risk if government doesn't act

The Herald Scotland

16-06-2025

Under the consultation, Alexander Dennis will put its UK bus body manufacturing operations into a single site in Scarborough, England.
Its Scottish based manufacturing in Falkirk, which has already been reduced in recent years, would be discontinued and the site closed. And production lines at Larbert would be suspended upon the completion of current contracts.
But Unite has warned that there would be wider consequences for associated jobs from the loss of ADL to Scotland and that government should act to invest even more into the company "in the national interest".
ADL cited strong competition from the China, which has seen its market share grow from 10% to 35%, among its reasons for the move.
The firm also criticised UK policy, and called for jobs and local economic benefit to be factored in when taxpayers money is invested.
The Herald on Sunday revealed yesterday that £90m of public money has gone to Britain's biggest coach builder to support Scottish jobs, before it embarked on the plan to move operations to England.
It emerged that Scottish Enterprise ploughed over £30m of taxpayers money into ADL to support research and development alone and included millions after it began a programme of drastic headcount cuts five years ago.
It emerged that the plans to leave Scotland came despite the First Minister intervening a year ago after getting wind of potential redundancies and suggested "further capital support" while he "advised and asked" that the government's economic development agency Scottish Enterprise "exhaust all options to support the business".
It came after the Scottish Government was being criticised for the levels of support for bus manufacturing.
(Image: NQ) At least £11.2m of the jobs grants from Scottish Enterprise came three years after concerns were raised over ADL embarking on an earlier 2020 plan to axe a third of its Scottish workforce.
At that point it had already received over £8m in 'job securing' taxpayer funding which helped support building a new greener business in Scotland.
It led to calls for action to be taken to claw the money back.
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Unite warned that for every job in bus manufacturing, it is estimated that there is a multiplier of three to four jobs in the wider supply chain and support services.
It estimates that the closure announcement on this basis puts up to 1,600 jobs at risk in the wider Falkirk and Grangemouth area.
Derek Thomson, Unite Scottish secretary said; 'The potential closure of the Camelon [Falkirk] and Larbert sites by Alexander Dennis cannot be allowed to happen. Scottish and UK governments ministers must explore every option to maintain bus manufacturing in Scotland. It is time for action and intervention.'
'Thousands of highly skilled jobs across the central belt are being lost and government must not sit on the sidelines while people and communities are being ripped apart.
'Scotland is on the brink of possessing no strategic manufacturing base to speak of with huge swathes of our nation being turned into industrial wastelands.'
According to the union, the workforce was at 700 in 2008 before job cuts reduced the headcount to 540.
And in September, 2024, the headcount was further reduced to around 400 following redundancies and retirement.
Mr Thomson added: 'We need to build our own green buses, or we will end up importing them all from China. This is exactly what is unfolding at Grangemouth following the oil refinery closure. The message from government appears to be that Scotland is closed for business and open only for imports.'
"Government can act as an investor of first resort in cases where it's in the national interest such as Alexander Dennis. Upgrades to the facilities could also help capture a larger share of the market.'
'Ministers urgently need to work with Alexander Dennis and stakeholders such as Unite to secure orders and bring forward plans which can secure the long-term future of the sites.'
The relationship between Alexander Dennis and the SNP can be traced back to 2013 when then First Minister Alex Salmond and then deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon used its Falkirk base to launch the economic case for Scottish independence.
In 2016, £7.3m in taxpayer's cash was given to Alexander Dennis which was closely linked with major SNP donor and Scottish tycoon Sir Brian Souter, despite having recorded an £18.5m profit the previous year.
Sir Brian SouterLast week the First Minister faced criticism from Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who claimed his government had ordered more buses from China than it had from ADL.
Mr Swinney said most bus ordering decisions in Scotland were made by private operators, and the government had to comply with state subsidy rules in the way it supported businesses.
He quoted a joint letter from the UK and Scottish governments, which pledged to "work closely with Alexander Dennis at this challenging time".
And he said that state aid regulations - in the form of the UK-wide Subsidy Control Act - prevented the government from directly procuring from a single supplier.
"We are going to do everything we can to find a way through the Subsidy Control Act provision, so the government can continue to work within the law, and so we can support manufacturing in Scotland," he said.
Sharon Graham Unite general secretary added: 'The announcement by Alexander Dennis to close its operations at Falkirk and Larbert is devastating.
'It is the latest huge economic blow to hit local communities on the back of the Grangemouth oil refinery closing.
'Hundreds of highly-skilled jobs are being lost and government ministers are guilty of sitting idly by while people and communities are being ripped apart. They will not be forgiven for their inaction and silence.'
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: 'The absolute focus right now is on supporting Alexander Dennis Ltd its workforce, as well as the families and communities they support. We also recognise the significance of the company within the local economy and across the wider supply chain.
'The Scottish Government has committed to exploring all viable options throughout the consultation period to allow the firm to retain their hard-working employees and manufacturing and production facilities at Falkirk and Larbert.
'We will continue to work in close collaboration with the company, trade unions, Scottish Enterprise, Transport Scotland and the UK Government.'
Alexander Dennis was approached for comment.