Falkirk-based bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis said 160 Scottish jobs are at risk as the result of an “uneven playing field” in the sector.

The firm said it has launched a consultation process due to government zero-emission bus funding “disproportionately benefitting” foreign competitors with lower labour costs.

The company, owned by a Canadian parent firm, employs 1,950 people in the UK, with its biggest plant in Larbert, plus a UK supply chain employing a further 6,350 people.

The firm is calling for higher import duties on electric buses, so that it can compete with the higher pay and better conditions required under government contracts which help bus operators replace their fleets in the UK.

The company’s president Paul Davies said: “Competition in itself is healthy, but when taxpayer money is spent with little domestic industrial, economic or employment benefit and bus companies effectively are incentivised to buy from lower-security economies, it creates an incomprehensible dynamic and an uneven playing field.”

He added that the firm would “continue to do everything” to save and protect as many jobs as possible.

He said: “We will continue our dialogue with governments to identify potential solutions to level the playing field, strengthen our industry and drive investments in local jobs and domestic supply.”