Alexander Dennis to shut Falkirk site with 115 jobs at risk

Bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis is to shut its base in Falkirk with 115 jobs at risk.

The company also announced it will turn its Larbert facility into a chassis manufacturing site.

Alexander Dennis, which previously proposed shutting down both Scottish bases, claimed it would save around 350 jobs under the new scheme.

Last year, 400 jobs were at risk. However, a furlough agreement with the Scottish Government saved hundreds of roles.

The bus manufacturing sector in the UK suffered in 2025, with 51% of all zero-emission buses purchased being sourced from overseas.

Paul Davies, Alexander Dennis president and managing director, said: “We are proposing to retain jobs and restart manufacturing at Larbert with a focus on chassis manufacturing. This represents the best possible outcome for our business, employees, customers and supply chain partners in the current climate.

“This new approach would enable us to better align with the current market whilst improving our efficiency. It also allows us to continue to adapt to rapidly changing and challenging market dynamics.

“We remain grateful to the Scottish government for the furlough scheme support to secure these jobs, maintaining skills and manufacturing capability in central Scotland. We will continue to work with the Scottish Government, its agencies and the trade unions to support staff during the consultation period.

“We are absolutely committed to doing the right thing by our team members and our stakeholders to protect jobs, invest in our business and maintain strategically important manufacturing capability in Scotland.”

Mr Davies added: “The output of the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel does not place enough focus on the significant jobs and economic contribution the domestic bus manufacturers make to the UK.

“In addition, the results of the ScotZEB3 scheme are incredibly disappointing, with the majority of the funding going overseas to support bus and coach manufacturing in China.

“We continue to repeat the same calls to both governments to level the playing field, recognise the cost of manufacturing in the UK and the fact that these higher costs flow through the supply chain. Manufacturing in this country needs to be better supported if we are to generate the economic benefit that the country so badly needs.”