Scottish government pledges £4m to keep Alexander Dennis sites open

Alexander Dennis will keep its Scottish manufacturing sites open after the Scottish government pledged £4 million towards a company-run furlough scheme, First Minister John Swinney said on a visit to the bus maker's Larbert plant.

The pledge follows plans announced earlier by the company to close its Falkirk and Larbert facilities, move production to Yorkshire and cut about 400 jobs. The government-funded support is conditional on Alexander Dennis providing evidence of "sufficient orders to sustain its operations in Scotland," Mr Swinney said.

The furlough arrangement will run for 26 weeks and is intended to enable the company to bring manufacturing back online, Scottish ministers said. Officials and company management have agreed the "principles of a company run furlough scheme," Mr Swinney added, and Scottish Enterprise will offer training during the period to retain and upskill the workforce.

"The Scottish government wants to retain the manufacturing workforce of Alexander Dennis," the first minister said. "My officials have discussed detailed terms with management and reached agreement on the principles of a company run furlough scheme. This is intended to act as a bridge to a sustainable future for the company in Scotland."

Company representatives previously said production would be relocated to Yorkshire as part of a wider restructuring. The government-funded furlough is framed as temporary support to maintain jobs and capacity while the firm seeks orders sufficient to justify continued manufacturing activity in Scotland.

The support is part of wider efforts to protect manufacturing jobs and expertise in the country. Scottish Enterprise's training offer is intended to ensure employees remain employable and that skills are retained locally if production can be resumed.

Further details, including the terms of the furlough payments and the specific evidence the company must provide on future orders, have not been released. Officials said the scheme is designed to give time for a commercial solution that could preserve manufacturing in Falkirk and Larbert, but the future of specific roles will depend on the outcome of order flows and management decisions.