Against the backdrop of continuing low levels of demand in the UK bus market, Wrights Group has today (5 June) announced the start of a consultation that is likely to lead to a further reduction in its Northern Ireland workforce.
It follows the loss of 140 jobs – of which 95 were made redundant – in February when Wright Group employed 1,700 staff. Today it employs 1,560 people.
The reduction affects its Wrightbus, Customcare and EN-Drive subsidiaries at Ballymena. alt=”” src=”https://www.route-one.net/wp-content/uploads/Wrightbus.jpg” style=”float:right” />
“There is a good deal of continuing uncertainty – specifically in the UK market – at present, which is causing private and public bus operators alike to delay or postpone their vehicle investment programmes” says Wrights Group Chairman Mark Nodder. Ì¢âå¬
“This has a direct impact on production levels at our Ballymena facilities and the announcement that we are making today – difficult and regrettable as it is – is nonetheless necessary to align workforce requirements with our near term order book.”Ì¢âå¬Ì¢âå¬
He adds: “We are naturally working proactively with the union, employee representatives and other stakeholders to mitigate both the scale and the impact of job cuts within our business.
“With existing contracts in build or in the pipeline, and a number of potential projects yet to come to fruition, the company continues to be well positioned for when the market demand for new buses returns to more normal levels.”Ì¢âå¬Ì¢âå¬
While none of the major UK bus operators have announced their fleet orders – in contrast to previous years – it is known that a reduction of 25-30% is expected.
This is largely driven by London, where Wrightbus delivered its final New Routemaster of the 1,000-strong order earlier this year, with most new operating contracts for existing vehicles.
In addition, FirstBus – a traditionally strong Wrightbus customer – has also announced that its 2018/19 orders will be “modest” due to uncertainty about what technologies will be required for the yet-to-be-decided Clean Air Zones (CAZs) expected in up to 30 UK towns and cities.
