PERU — An international bus company with a manufacturing facility in Peru is set to permanently close and lay off 24 local workers after opening less than two years ago.

Alexander Dennis (ADL) and its parent company, NFI Group, announced it is closing its facilities in Peru and Nappanee, laying off in total 192 workers. In Peru, those workers being affected include 18 assemblers and four parts-dock workers.

The layoffs were reported to the mayors of both cities and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development on Dec. 1. The company said employee terminations will begin Feb. 4 and continue until May 6.

NFI purchased ADL in 2019 but said in July it was planning to close all its North American facilities to cut costs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, those operations will run out of already-existing NFI facilities around North America.

“As it is never easy to close locations and impact individuals’ careers, this important decision was not taken lightly,” said Paul Soubry, NFI’s president and CEO, in a release. “This integration, however, continues us on the necessary path for NFI as we execute our plan of transforming our organization into a more cost efficient, integrated operating business.”

Alexander Dennis began producing double-deck buses in Nappanee in 2014 through a contractor. Two years later, it took over full operation and invested $1.5 million to expand its facility there, according to a release.

In 2020, the company began hiring workers for a new manufacturing line inside a Peru facility, located at 2935 W. 100 North at the intersection of U.S. 24 and U.S. 31.

NFI said it will continue to offer Alexander Dennis’ double-deck products in North America, including the world’s best-selling model, the Enviro500, and the recently launched battery-electric model the Enviro500 EV CHARGE.

“North America remains a vitally important market for ADL,” said Paul Davies, ADL’s president and managing director, in a release. “ ... This integration will allow us to provide an even stronger offering for our Canadian and U.S. customers in the future.”

NFI is a leading global bus manufacturer of mass mobility solutions and employs 8,000 workers in nine countries. Its headquarters are in Winnipeg, Canada.
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