JOBS at North Yorkshire bus manufacturer could be under threat.
 
There are up to 650 possible job losses at the parent company of Scarborough-based Plaxton's, Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL), which has sites at Guildford, Scarborough and Falkirk.

There are about 530 staff at the Plaxton's Scarborough site. It's not yet known how many jobs will be affected at each site.
 
Unite, the UK and Ireland’s largest union, said it is working with the ADL to minimise redundancies. 
 

Unite national officer, Steve Bush, said: "This is a devastating blow for Alexander Dennis workers and their communities. Unite will be doing everything possible to support our members at this difficult time and we will be working with ADL to ensure the company explores all possible avenues to minimise redundancies. 
 
"The coronavirus pandemic has impacted the automotive sector greatly. However, ADL is in a good position to take advantage of the need to reduce the carbon footprint of the UK’s passenger transport network. Unite is clear ADL must not impact its future operating capacity by cutting jobs opportunistically for the sake of short-term savings.
 
"The government also has its part to play. This month Boris Johnson reiterated that £3 billion will be allocated for 4,000 green buses to be built. Those plans must be activated as soon as possible to save jobs and get the UK on the road to cleaner public transport.
 
"As Unite has made clear in correspondence with Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, the easiest way to achieve this would be for the government to purchase the buses directly from manufacturers. The government could then lease them to the bus operators, many of whom are delaying orders because their cash flows have been impacted by the lockdown.”