19 hours ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Union seeks more public money for Alexander Dennis
But he says that support should be conditional on the company having a long term commitment to Scotland. And the union says that it cannot take away from the recovery of Grangemouth.
Unions however have warned that "time is running out" on the company with the consultation over jobs due to expire in a few weeks, while there was no response yet to a request for an extension to August 15, and while the Scottish Parliament goes into summer recess between June 28 and August 31.
It has been suggested that a taxpayer-backed furlough scheme could be put in place to allow ADL to remain in Scotland at a cost expected to be between £4m and £5m.
The idea was to support staff for a few months until work on new bus orders could get under way.
Ministers were accused of "strategic neglect" after The Herald revealed £90m of public money was ploughed into the firm in Scotland that is now planning to move to England.
According to Scottish Government records, ADL received £58m of public 'subsidy' for green vehicles since 2020 under two schemes aimed at transitioning Scotland to green buses - despite the company having embarked on a 2020 plan to axe a third of its Scottish workforce.
And some £30m of jobs grants for research and development over 10 years has come from the Scottish Government's economic development agency Scottish Enterprise.
Some £11.2m of those jobs grants from Scottish Enterprise came in 2023, three years after concerns were raised over ADL embarking on major job cuts in 2020.
John SwinneyThe Herald also revealed how the First Minister John Swinney was warned Alexander Dennis was "reconsidering" its "entire investment" in Scotland a year before announcing its plans last week to relocate to England putting 400 jobs at risk.
This news follows the loss of more than 400 jobs just a few miles away in Grangemouth, where the oil refinery recently closed and was converted into an import terminal.
Calls have already been made to claw money back if Alexander Dennis follows through with its proposals.
Now Unite has suggested that Grangemouth money that is not earmarked for its recovery could be utilised to support ADL in Scotland.
Sir Keir Starmer in February announced £200m investment in the Grangemouth site calling the announcement an "investment in Scotland's industrial future".
The £200m investment will come from the National Wealth Fund which publicly-owned and backed by the Treasury, and invests alongside the private sector in projects - primarily focusing on initiatives that support clean energy.
The UK government said its aim was to direct "tens of billions of pounds" of private investment to decarbonise the British economy.
But Derek Thomson, Unite Scotland's regional secretary said there was no sign that that wealth fund money has been deployed anywhere yet.
The oil refinery, owned by Petroineos, is set to close by the summer with the loss of more than 400 jobs.
Scotland's first minister announced £25m of new 'just transition' funding which he said brought the Scottish government's total investment for the site to £87m.
An Alexander Dennis bus (Image: Pic supplied)
Mr Thomson said: "There are significant public funds being allocated towards the Grangemouth area by government ministers. This includes £200m from the UK National Wealth Fund and a further £25m in the Just Transition Fund set up by the Scottish government. There is minimal information on the criteria and conditionalities associated with accessing this public money which was increased due to pressure by Unite after the announcement by PetroIneos to close the oil refinery."
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"The question needs to be asked as to whether any public funding streams can be used to help support not only the refinery workers but also those at Alexander Dennis and the wider industrial cluster. We need to ensure that workers are properly supported particularly when they are integral to the nation's strategic manufacturing base and wider energy transition."
Ministers are said to be looking at ADL's costs and considering what additional support that can ben provided to to help lower then, increase productivity and ensure there is demand for their buses.
They are working with the procuring authorities - the people who actually own and run the buses - in Scotland and further afield, to look at how the ADL order book can be developed.
The SNP-led Scottish Government and the Labour-led UK Government have agreed to establish a joint working group to discuss options to find a solution and avert job losses.
The SNP-led Scottish Government and the Labour-led UK Government have agreed to establish a joint working group to discuss options to find a solution and avert job losses.
If Alexander Dennis left Scotland it would mark the end of more than a century of manufacturing excellence and innovation. ADL and bus production are synonymous, with more than a century of manufacturing excellence and innovation growing from Walter Alexander's original coach works in Falkirk.
Union representative were yesterday told how the firm's move to England is a 'political failure' which would be 'catastrophic' for a region already facing economic difficulties.
Earlier this month, the company announced it was considering relocating production from its Larbert and Camelon sites near Falkirk to Scarborough in North Yorkshire, citing cost-cutting reasons.
Robert Deavy, the senior organiser for manufacturing with GMB Scotland said the situation would require a political intervention to resolve.
'Speaking to our members, this is something that we as a union have been raising for some time – I'm pretty sure Unite have been as well,' he said.
'We believe that this is a political failure that now requires a political solution.
He added: 'Now we need everyone to come together – trade unions, politicians and, really importantly, we need ADL involvement on this.'
Alexander Dennis has said that they are engaging with both governments "in good faith on the possibility of any intervention" and has stressed that a final decision on the move had not yet been made.
The company, the unions said, is losing out on contracts to cheaper foreign alternatives as a result of their lower costs, with Mr Thomson calling for direct awards to be made from government to the company and for workers to be paid until work on the contracts begins.
'What we understand is that pending those direct awards or contracts being done, there is a four month gap between bringing those contracts online and the end of the consultation period,' he said.
'What we have been asking for and speaking to the Deputy First Minister about is a time-limited furlough scheme where we can support those workers through that period of the contract being awarded.'
Mr Deavy warned that if the sites close, then 'the skills are lost forever' in the area.
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: "The absolute focus right now is on supporting ADL, 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.
'Since 2020, ADL secured orders for more zero emission buses than any other single manufacturer through the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund and its predecessor the Scottish Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme. ADL has received £58 million of Scottish Government subsidy for vehicles under these programmes.'
