'Boris Bus' manufacturer goes into administration

'Boris Bus' manufacturer goes into administration
The Northern Irish bus manufacturing company, Wrightbus, went into administration on Wednesday. Robin Sones/ https://www.geograph.org.uk.

Around 1,200 employees have lost their jobs after the Northern Irish bus manufacturing company, Wrightbus, went into administration on Wednesday.

The company is best known for manufacturing the 'Boris Bus', a modern version of the traditional red double-decker bus, also known as the New Routemaster.

It picked up the name after Boris Johnson ordered 600 New Routemasters for London in 2012.

Due to the expense of the 'Boris Bus', design problems and the non-environmentally friendly nature of the bus, in 2016 the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, discontinued purchases of the New Routemaster bus, reports New Mobility.

Wrightbus was unable to resolve its financial problems after the Chinese engineering group Weichai and a firm led by Jo Bamford, the heir of JCB, a British multinational manufacturing company, withdrew from talks as potential buyers, reports The Guardian.

The entrance into administration of Wrightbus is the second major insolvency of a UK company this week, following the financial collapse of global travel company Thomas Cook Group plc.

Evie McCullough

The Brussels Times


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