TRANSBUS International's blunt announcement that it is to close Plaxton in Scarborough demonstrates a contempt for the workforce, for the town and for nearly a century of coach building tradition.

When Plaxton was swallowed up into TransBus International, bosses said: "We see no issue about job losses at Plaxton." Only a matter of months later, they have thrown the company and its 700 workers onto the scrapheap.

Chairman of TransBus, John Fleming, says he is "mindful of the impact it will have on the local community". Workers would be forgiven for accusing Mr Fleming of crying crocodile tears.

This decision was taken without reference to the employees who have served the company so loyally. Their endeavours made Plaxton's a major force in the midibus and luxury coach building industry. Yet bosses did not even have the grace to consult them.

The closure announcement came as a bolt from the blue. Scarborough MP Lawrie Quinn was given only ten minutes' notice. This sort of macho management is to be deplored.

It has left Scarborough reeling. Taking the impact on Plaxton's suppliers into account, the closure could affect five per cent of the town's workforce. And this in a district that has levels of unemployment as bad as some inner cities.

Management blame foot-and-mouth, and the associated downturn in orders, for the closure. If this is true, it exposes their alarmingly short-term sales strategy.

For Plaxton's skilled workers, there is nowhere left for them to go. Some have been through the trauma of redundancy twice before, first at ABB and then at Samsung.

Plaxton is a firm with a long and proud tradition. In 1906 Frederick Plaxton began making horse-drawn carriages. Over the years, the firm has always adapted quickly to new transport technologies. By 1999, it produced 45 per cent of all Britain's luxury coaches.

There is about to be a boom in public transport. Plaxton's should have been a part of that.

Now, shamefully, it is history.

Updated: 11:23 Friday, May 04, 2001