Fears over 90 jobs at Dunfermline supplier to bus maker Alexander Dennis
Nearly 100 workers at a Fife firm that supplies parts to bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis have been told they are at risk of being made redundant.Dunfermline-based Greenfold Systems told 90 members of staff on Friday that their jobs could go as a knock-on effect of Alexander Dennis planning to move its operations to England.Greenfold Systems constructs the sides, interdecks and roofs of buses for the Alexander Dennis factories in Falkirk and Larbert. Business and Employment Secretary Richard Lochhead said he was "very disappointed" to learn about the job threat and offered Scottish government assistance to the firm and its workers.
Earlier this month, Alexander Dennis announced it was planning to move its full operation to a site in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.The plan would see its sites in Falkirk and Larbert close with the loss of 400 jobs.The wider economic impact of any closure would be felt among the suppliers to the plants, such as Greenfold Systems. News of the redundancy threat was first reported by The Courier.Greenfold's managing director Craig Waterson told the newspaper that Alexander Dennis was a "sizeable customer" and added it was a "difficult situation" for the company.He added: "What happens with Alexander Dennis remains to be seen. We would, of course, like a clearer answer but we're not going to get one any time soon. "A communication has been issued to staff, essentially telling them that their jobs are at risk as a result of the Alexander Dennis situation."
The managing director of Alexander Dennis has said that orders for hundreds of new vehicles may not be enough to keep its Scottish sites open.Speaking to MSPs, Paul Davies said the company would need to win orders for at least 70 new buses this year and 300 next year to keep its Falkirk and Larbert operations going.But he said this alone may not be sufficient and he could not commit to keeping the sites open.
'Difficult time for the employees'
Business and Employment Secretary Richard Lochhead said: "I am very disappointed to learn that Greenfold Systems Ltd has entered into consultation with a view to making redundancies at its Dunfermline site."This will be a difficult time for the employees at risk of losing their jobs, their families and for the local area. Scottish Enterprise will engage with the company to better understand the reasons for this decision and whether it can offer any assistance."The people affected by this announcement are our immediate priority and the Scottish government will do everything in its power to help those affected through our initiative for responding to potential redundancy situations, Partnership Action for Continuing Employment."Greenfold Systems has been approached for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
40 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Wounded PM gone in a year say allies of Angela Rayner - and if you think Starmer's first 12 months have been a shambles, then be warned... his ultra-Left wing deputy is eyeing up No.10
Allies of Angela Rayner expect Sir Keir Starmer to be ousted within 12 months – with the Deputy Prime Minister most likely to succeed him in No 10. Last week's humiliating Government U-turn over planned £5 billion cuts to welfare has left the Prime Minister 'gravely wounded' and unlikely to lead the party into the next election, the allies said. After rebel MPs forced Sir Keir to row back on the reforms, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been left with a further £3 billion black hole in her finances, raising the prospect of more tax rises in the autumn. Despite his concessions, party sources say the PM is still not guaranteed to win a Commons vote on the reforms on Tuesday. The turmoil – ahead of Sir Keir's first anniversary as Prime Minister on Saturday – comes as a poll for today's Mail on Sunday found that 61 per cent of voters think Sir Keir should quit as Prime Minister. According to the survey by Find Out Now, only 25 per cent think Sir Keir will still be in Downing Street by the next election, with even Labour supporters split 50/50 on the question. Futhermore, a total of 64 per cent think that Ms Reeves should be fired by Sir Keir. Ms Rayner tops the list of ministerial candidates to succeed Sir Keir among all voters – and boasts commanding support from the party and union members who would vote in a leadership contest. The Rayner ally told The Mail on Sunday: 'I think Angela will be the leader. After next year's Welsh and local elections, if Starmer does not stand down, he will face a challenge. People have just had enough and Keir is gravely wounded.' The MP added that while the Left would prefer Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to succeed Sir Keir, he is not currently an MP, making Ms Rayner 'the most acceptable and most viable option'. They rejected Ms Rayner's insistence that she had 'no desire', saying: 'That's what she would say' – adding that of all the potential Labour leaders, she could challenge Nigel Farage as 'a genuine working-class woman against a man who just wants working-class votes'. But one MP close to Ms Rayner insisted last night that she was focusing on her government job, and dismissed talk of leadership manoeuvreings as nonsense. Further complicating the picture was a poll last week which suggested Ms Rayner could lose her Ashton-under-Lyne seat to Mr Farage's Reform party. Labour MPs claim that the concessions to exempt existing Personal Independence Payment recipients from the cutbacks would not necessarily ensure the measures will pass on Tuesday. Labour rebels were still threatening to table a new amendment to kill off what was left of the legislation, with suggestions that as many as 50 Labour MPs would back the move. But party insiders insist the Government will now narrowly win the vote. Sir Keir is under pressure from both the Left and Right of his party. Ms Rayner's nearest rival, Blairite Health Secretary Wes Streeting is said to have increased his personal contact with Labour MPs. A source said: 'It is always about health reforms, admittedly, but we suspect a hidden motive'. One MP said last night that the Prime Minister's authority over his party was now 'shot to pieces'. Another contrasted Ms Rayner with the PM, saying that while 'Angie's a politician', Sir Keir relied 'on other people' to do his political thinking for him. And a third backbench MP accused Sir Keir of being 'more interested in his own agenda' of assisted dying legislation than the Government's official programme. 'He was so tuned out of the welfare stuff that the rebellion was all a surprise,' the MP added. Veteran Left-wing MP Diane Abbott called on the PM to 'look at Tony Blair's leadership. [He] knew he had to listen to his MPs... Starmer doesn't appear to understand that until it's really very late'. Former Labour Cabinet Minister Lord Falconer said that after last week's events, 'there needs to be change' to show the Government is working with its MPs. Sir Keir's nightmare continued yesterday when he was barracked by pro-farming, fishing and Palestinian protesters outside the Welsh Labour conference.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
JD Sports, M&S and Sainsbury's to face shareholder pressure over low pay
Major high street retailers are set to face pressure from shareholders over low pay in their workforce, including third-party contractors. ShareAction, which campaigns for responsible investment, has put forward resolutions on the issue, which will be voted on by shareholders at M&S and JD Sports' annual general meetings (AGM s) on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. While the group is not filing a resolution at Sainsbury's, shareholders will directly question the board about pay transparency at the supermarket's AGM on Thursday. The companies are facing questions over wages that do not meet the 'real living wage' of £12.60 per hour nationally and £13.85 per hour in London for those aged 21 and over. These wages, which are set by the Living Wage Foundation to reflect the true cost of living, exceed the 2025/26 legal minimum wage of £12.21 set for the whole country including London. ShareAction argues the real living wage boosts stability, productivity and brand value, and has long been campaigning on the issue across the retail sector. Catherine Howarth, chief executive at ShareAction, said: 'We urge investors to support the shareholder resolutions going to a vote at the AGMs of M&S and JD Sports. 'Votes in support will endorse good governance and risk management whilst recognising the workers who keep these businesses running.' The resolutions ask M&S and JD Sports to disclose information on the number of employees earning below the real living wage and staff turnover rates as well their approach to setting base pay for contracted staff and a cost/benefit analysis of setting the real living wage across their workforce. While M&S pays direct employees at least the real living wage, it argues that third-party contractors are independent and set their own pay. M&S's board is recommending shareholders oppose the resolution, citing its recent investments in employee compensation of more than £285 million since 2022 and an increase to the standard hourly rate by more than 26%. On third-party contractors, it also said the vast majority of colleagues are paid at or above the real living wage. At the AGM, M&S could also be questioned about the major cyber attack it suffered earlier this year, which halted website orders, disrupted contactless payments, left some shelves empty and saw personal customer data taken by hackers. The company said the incident is likely to drag its group operating profits down by around £300 million this year but it expects this to be reduced through cost management, insurance and other reactions. For JD Sports, the activists argue that the firm only guarantees the legal minimum wage and lacks transparency on contractor pay. The board has advised shareholders to vote against the proposals, saying the firm complies with legal requirements and has invested more than £75 million over the last three years in removing the age banding as well as enhancing the remuneration and benefits of lowest-paid workers. Further reporting adds no value, reduces flexibility, raises costs and may harm competitiveness, the retailer said. Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (PIRC), which is Europe's largest independent shareholder advisory consultancy, is supporting the resolution at both companies' AGMs. PIRC said that while M&S has made progress on pay, there is still room to improve in formally committing to wage standards and increasing transparency for contractor pay. For JD Sports, the consultancy argues that legal compliance is not best practice and that pay transparency is needed to assess risks and resilience. It follows an identical resolution filed at Next in May, which gained the support of over a quarter of shareholders. While not legally binding, support for shareholder resolutions can put pressure on business leaders to respond to the matters raised, and more than 20% of dissent against the board can be considered a rebellion. During Sainbury's AGM, shareholders plan to stand up and ask the board to commit to disclosing the composition and pay of their workforce, employee turnover, and the feasibility of paying the real living wage for all staff, including all third-party contractors. An M&S spokesperson said: 'In addition to paying the real living wage, we offer an industry-leading range of benefits which, when taken with hourly pay, is worth up to £15.40 an hour. 'In regards to on-site third party contractors, which we use for specialist roles and to support the inherent seasonality in retail, a vast proportion of colleagues are paid at or above the real living wage and we go to great lengths to ensure they are all treated as part of the M&S family. 'While we support and act on the principle that all M&S-related colleagues should be paid well, we do not believe it is right to divest responsibility for setting pay and benefits away from businesses and their shareholders to a third party, as ShareAction would propose.' A JD Group spokesperson said: 'Our highly competitive UK colleague package is specifically designed to address the needs of our predominantly young workforce. 'We remain committed to providing fair wages and acting in the best interests of all stakeholders and have been engaging with shareholders ahead of our AGM on July 2 to outline our holistic approach to reward and benefits and are grateful for their supportive response. 'We are proud of our role as one of the UK's largest employers of young people, often giving them their first jobs and teaching them skills and disciplines that stand them in good stead for the rest of their working lives, including long-term opportunities with JD.'
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
UK junior trade minister visits Taiwan
LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) - British junior trade minister Douglas Alexander is visiting Taiwan for talks on Sunday, the UK government said, on a trip that is aimed at boosting trade with Taipei but is likely to anger China. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and strongly objects to any official interactions between the island and foreign governments, believing them to represent support for Taiwan's desire to be recognised as an independent country. Britain only has formal diplomatic relations with Beijing, but maintains a de facto embassy in Taipei. Junior British ministers hold talks with their Taiwanese counterparts but by convention senior ministers do not meet Taiwanese officials. Alexander's trip comes at a time when Britain and China are looking to mend ties, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer expected to visit Beijing this year on the first trip by a British leader since 2018. But despite those efforts, tensions remain. Last week, China's military criticised the sailing of a British warship through the Taiwan Strait as a deliberate attempt to "cause trouble". Alexander will be in Taiwan for annual trade talks on June 29-30, the Department for Business and Trade said. He will witness the signing of UK-Taiwan trade partnership pillars, and meet President Lai Ching-te as part of Britain's "long-standing unofficial relationship" with Taiwan, it said. "We share a long-standing trade relationship with Taiwan and our trade reached an all-time high last year, but we know there are still more opportunities for British businesses," Alexander said in a statement.
