Claim 84472d69Checked 21 Jul 2026
TrueOn the truth scale
“Jobs are being lost in Scotland’s bus manufacturing sector.”
—Euan StainbankLabourLab / Falkirk·Engagements·03 Jun 2026Factual · historical current chronological
Reasoning & Evidence21 Jul 2026
The claim that "jobs are being lost in Scotland's bus manufacturing sector" is well-supported by multiple sources. Alexander Dennis, Scotland's primary bus manufacturer (with facilities in Falkirk and Larbert), has undergone significant job losses:
- In 2024, the company announced plans that put up to 400 jobs at risk in Scotland, with potential relocation of manufacturing to Scarborough, England.
- In September 2025, the Scottish Government introduced a £4 million furlough scheme to try to protect jobs.
- By March 2026, the company confirmed it would close its Falkirk facility and convert Larbert to a chassis manufacturing site, resulting in 115 job losses. While about 200 previously at-risk jobs were safeguarded, 115 posts were still being lost.
- The Independent reported that approximately 85 employees had already left the business by the time of the March 2026 announcement.
The company attributed these losses to overseas manufacturers (particularly Chinese firms) gaining market share, with 51% of zero-emission buses purchased in the UK sourced from overseas manufacturers.
Given the speaker represents Falkirk — where Alexander Dennis's closing facility is located — and the job losses are documented across multiple reputable sources through to early 2026 (just before the speech date of June 2026), the claim is accurate.
Sources:
- BBC News: "Bus firm Alexander Dennis to close Falkirk site with loss of 115 jobs" — https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg54v6y1en9o
- BBC News: "Hundreds of jobs at risk as bus maker Alexander Dennis plans shutdown of Scottish sites" — https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c39x8l8dvmpo
- The Independent: "Alexander Dennis to shut Falkirk site and convert another with 115 jobs at risk" — https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/falkirk-john-swinney-scottish-government-scottish-snp-b2949127.html
- NFI Group press release: "NFI's Alexander Dennis proposes new Scottish manufacturing strategy in response to changing market demand" — https://www.nfigroup.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nfis-alexander-dennis-proposes-new-scottish-manufacturing
- The National: "Alexander Dennis announces 115 jobs at risk and plans to shut Scottish site" — https://www.thenational.scot/news/25983562.alexander-dennis-announces-115-jobs-risk-scottish-site/
From speech
The 10-year bus pipeline published by the Department for Transport shows that demand for zero emission buses will double by the end of the decade. In Scotland, however, jobs are being lost in our bus manufacturing sector because overseas manufacturers are winning a greater number of orders and now constitute the majority of new registration buses on our roads, despite an investigation into the cyber-security of Chinese buses. Will the Prime Minister designate bus manufacturing as a sector critical to our national security?
Sources opened
| [1] | bbc.com |
| [2] | independent.co.uk |
| [3] | bbc.com |
| [4] | nfigroup.com |
| [5] | thenational.scot |
| [6] | bbc.co.uk |
| [7] | heraldscotland.com |