NEW DELHI: Commercial vehicle major - Ashok Leyland - said on Wednesday that its UK subsidiary Switch Mobility may close manufacturing and assembly activity at the Sherburn facility amid continuing general economic uncertainty within the overall bus manufacturing sector in the UK. Switch Mobility Limited, UK (Switch UK) is a step-down subsidiary of Ashok Leyland and it manufactures electric buses across the UK & Europe.
“In the wake of continuing general economic uncertainty within the overall bus manufacturing sector in the UK and consequent inability to derive the benefits of scale, the Board of Directors of Switch UK today approved commencement of consultation process with the employees which could potentially lead to cessation of its manufacturing and assembly activities at its Sherburn facility,” said Ashok Leyland in a regulatory filing.
It added that Switch UK has no plans to exit the UK market. The firm also said that they will execute and complete all the orders on hand and would continue to provide aftermarket and service support from two other facilities in Rotherham and Thurrock.
Switch Mobility UK contributed 0.60% of Ashok Leyland’s consolidated turnover in the last financial year. The timeline for the potential closure remains uncertain as it is subject to internal and external approvals.
Ashok Leyland reportedly said it does not plan to pump in more money into Switch UK, which posted a loss of around 20 million pounds to 21 million pounds ($26 million to $27 million) this year.
Ashok Leyland has also denied reports that it is in talks to acquire a controlling stake in commercial vehicle firm SML Isuzu Ltd. "Ashok Leyland would like to outrightly deny this news as factually incorrect," the company said in an exchange filing on Wednesday, March 26.