Scarborough coachbuilder Plaxton set to shed 75 jobs

Coachbuilder Plaxton plans to make 75 staff redundant at its Scarborough site because of a slump in orders.

The company said it had been "an extremely tough year" and it was in talks with unions about the job cuts.

General manager Alan Atkinson said: "It is a bitter blow for everyone that we are faced with further job losses.

"We can't underestimate the effects on employees and their families, but the improved trading conditions we had hoped for have yet to materialise."

He said the coach industry had been badly hit by the recession, with registrations of new coaches down by about a third in three years because of the reluctance of major fleet buyers to make long-term investment.

Continued uncertainty in the coach market meant a greater proportion of the Scarborough plant's output would be service buses rather than luxury coaches, the company said.

"And the prospect that transport may fare badly in the current government spending reviews has meant that coach production is being reduced for the short term, but bus production will remain at current levels," it added.