NFI's Alexander Dennis may convert Larbert facility

Executive Summary

• NFI Group’s subsidiary, Alexander Dennis, has proposed a new manufacturing strategy for its Scottish operations to align with changing market demand and secure long-term viability.
• The plan involves converting the Larbert facility into a dedicated chassis manufacturing site for low-emission and zero-emission bus products, while closing the legacy Falkirk facility.
• The restructuring aims to safeguard approximately 200 jobs previously at risk and retain 350 roles in Scotland, though up to 115 roles remain at risk of redundancy.

Key Details

• Strategic Shift: Alexander Dennis is consulting on converting the Larbert manufacturing facility to a chassis manufacturing site to support all low-emission and zero-emission bus products.
• Facility Changes: The company plans to close its legacy Falkirk facility, consistent with previous plans to exit that site.
• Job Impact:
  • Approximately 200 skilled manufacturing and support jobs previously at risk of redundancy are now safeguarded.
  • Approximately 350 roles will be retained within Scotland.
  • Up to 115 roles are placed at risk of potential redundancy.
• Future Flexibility: Alexander Dennis retains the flexibility to reintroduce bus body manufacturing to the Larbert facility at a later date to match production capacity to future market needs.
• Context: This proposal follows a September 2025 agreement with the Scottish government for a furlough scheme, which allowed for a revised outcome compared to an earlier proposal that threatened up to 400 job losses.
• Market Dynamics: The UK domestic bus manufacturing sector lost significant market share in the past 12 months, with 51% of zero-emission buses purchased in the UK sourced from overseas manufacturers (a 25 percentage point increase from 2024).
• Financial Guidance: The announcement does not change NFI's guidance for fiscal year 2026, originally announced on March 11, 2026.

Notable Quotes

• Paul Davies, President and Managing Director, Alexander Dennis: "This represents the best possible outcome for our business, employees, customers and supply chain partners in the current climate... 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."
• John Sapp, President and Chief Executive Officer, NFI: "While this is a difficult decision, the proposal is about aligning Alexander Dennis's production capacity with today's demand. It also enables us to preserve flexibility going forward should we see changes in domestic content requirements... Closing the legacy Falkirk facility and converting the Larbert site to chassis manufacturing enables us to operate more efficiently, improving our competitive position, while maintaining a strong footprint in Scotland that we can scale in response to market conditions."