PA MediaScotland’s deputy First Minister has pledged to “leave no stone unturned” to secure a future for the workers at risk of losing their jobs at bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis.
Kate Forbes, who is also the Economy Secretary, said the Scottish Government would “explore every avenue” to save the 400 jobs at risk of redundancy.
Up to 400 jobs have been put at risk after the manufacturer announced plans to move operations in Falkirk and Larbert to a single site in Scarborough in North Yorkshire.
PA MediaIt comes after more than 400 jobs were lost at the nearby Grangemouth refinery.
Forbes said ministers at Holyrood first spoke with the firm about the proposals on May 25, and said she believed the UK Government did so at that time too.
She insisted she was “determined” to find an alternative to job cuts at the Falkirk and Larbert factories.
Opposition parties accused the Scottish Government of having done nothing, despite the company warning a year ago that it may cut jobs in Scotland.
Vowing to “leave no stone unturned”, Forbes said in a statement to the Scottish Parliament: “We are determined to help the business find an alternative to that route and to find different ways to meet market challenges through investment and improved performance.
“A key part of that is the ability of Alexander Dennis to secure future orders, and that is why we are working closely with the company to identify and secure a forward pipeline of demand for high quality buses from Scottish and UK customers.”
She said securing a pipeline for bus orders in Scotland was “key” to securing the future of the sector in Scotland.
She added: “We will work in close collaboration with the company, with trade unions and the UK Government to find practical solutions.
“We are not going to play politics with the situation.
“We will continue to explore every avenue to avoid job losses.”
The situation dominated Labour’s questions at FMQs on Thursday, with Anas Sarwar accusing the First Minister John Swinney of doing “nothing” to save the jobs, despite warnings they could be lost.
The Scottish Labour leader pointed to a letter from last August, from Paul Soubry, president and chief executive of Alexander Dennis’s parent company, NFI, who told Swinney: “We are regretfully left with the impression through recent developments that the Scottish Government has little regard for domestic bus manufacturing jobs in Scotland and we have no choice but to reconsider our entire investment in the Scottish operations of Alexander Dennis.”
Sarwar said: “Last week, John Swinney claimed that he became aware of issues facing Alexander Dennis a few weeks ago and was doing what he could to help the company.
“But that is not true. John Swinney received a letter almost a year ago directly from the company setting out how his decision to buy buses from China, instead of from Scotland, was putting the company and jobs at risk.
Scottish Secretary Ian Murray echoed that sentiment, telling the PA news agency: “The bottom line here is that the Scottish Government have known about this for a year and done absolutely nothing.
“There’s a pattern here, they knew about the Grangemouth refinery closing for three years and did nothing.
“And now what they’re trying to do is pass the ball back to Westminster.”
He said the UK Government is doing “all we possibly can” to resolve the issues at the bus plant, adding: “The big issue with Alexander Dennis in Falkirk is the Scottish Government didn’t buy as many buses off them as they should have done.
“In fact they bought four times fewer as Andy Burnham in Manchester.”
Speaking after Forbes’ speech at Holyrood, Tory MSP Stephen Kerr said the Scottish Government could not “conceal” the fact it “did nothing”.
He said: “Let us be clear, I hear what the deputy First Minister says about setting politics aside, but our role here is to scrutinise the performance of the Scottish Government – and this crisis did not come out of the blue.
“This statement, however skilfully delivered, cannot conceal the truth: the SNP Government was warned repeatedly for over a year and did nothing.
“When Alexander Dennis asked for support, they were met with silence.
“When Scottish jobs were on the line, the Scottish Government were looking in another direction.
PA Media“When buses, orders for buses were needed, those orders went to China.”
Unite union Scottish secretary Derek Thomson said: “Unite has held positive and constructive meetings with the Deputy First Minister to explore all options which can keep the Alexander Dennis sites open in Falkirk and Larbert.
“We welcome the Scottish Government actively working with the trade unions to find solutions to the threat of 400 highly skilled jobs being lost.
“It is our firm belief that there are pathways to retaining a manufacturing presence at the sites.”
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