4 ms·

Lots of mention of Brexit in this article, and not many mentions of the fact that the owners of Wrightbus were pumping huge amounts of money into religious orga

by ch_123 7y ago

Lots of mention of Brexit in this article, and not many mentions of the fact that the owners of Wrightbus were pumping huge amounts of money into religious organizations, as well as giving themselves large bonuses while _at the same time_ laying people off and declaring large losses. I'm not saying that business owners should not be allowed to donate to religious groups, but when the donations in a given year are greater than the amount of money the company is losing, there is something seriously wrong. (source https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/former-wrightbus-workers-angry-at-donations-to-evangelical-church-1.4032990 https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/former-wr...)

fyfy18 7y ago
That should be true for any charitable donation - I'm surprised it isn't already. I wonder if the directors could face loosing their limited liability for this.
Jonnax 7y ago
"Its founder, director and senior pastor is Jeffrey William Wright, known as “Pastor Jeff”, who is the son of the founder of Wrightbus, William Wright. Pastor Jeff is also the majority shareholder in Cornerstone." This kind of thing really should be illegal.
earnubs 7y ago
> In 2018 it reported a loss of £1.7m, citing a difficult UK bus market and near non-existent overseas sales aggravated by Brexit. https://www.londonreconnections.com/2019/the-rise-and-fall-of-a-vision-wrightbus-enters-administration/ https://www.londonreconnections.com/2019/the-rise-and-fall-o... > It [Church set up by Jeff Wright] received more than £15m from the firm in recent years, most of which was donated while the group was profitable. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-49869944 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-49869944 I'm sure someone smarter than me can explain how Brexit was the cause of Wright's downfall, especially given Brexit hasn't happened.
- earnubs 7y ago
  > On top of this, comes the inescapable elephant that is Brexit. This may only be one of the factors affecting Wrightbus, but it is arguably the crippling final blow. Wrightbus is a Northern Ireland based supplier, dependent on parts and orders from the EU and beyond, a strong UK economy, and a stable period of national and local government. All of those pillars have been cracked by Brexit. None of those things have changed, or been changed by Brexit in this timeframe.
  - mytailorisrich 7y ago
    Sterling has fallen because of Brexit. This increases the cost of importing parts, etc. from foreign suppliers. Brexit was also expected to have already occurred so customers may have taken a cautious approach regarding orders that may have spanned Brexit occurring. I guess there is also the issue of maintenance and sourcing parts from them during the life-time of the busses. It is not unreasonable to accept that Brexit may have caused customers to conclude that it was safer to pick other suppliers for the time being.
    - earnubs 7y ago
      Currencies rise and fall, the cost of Al (in the UK) was more expensive in 2010 than it is now. (And if you're a buyer outside the UK the fall of sterling would be a good thing, no?) I'm having a hard time getting past the relative difference between the losses and the donations to Green Pastures, to blaming Brexit.
  - michaelt 7y ago
    If you’re an investor making a 5 year investment, or a foreign customer making an order for delivery over a year and spare parts for years thereafter, the levels of tariffs are pretty important, no?
    - earnubs 7y ago
      If you make a deal to buy a bus (or 1000) today, what tariff would you be incurring as a result of Brexit? And if we're post Brexit, what tariff is the UK going to impose on a UK manufacturer that kills it's business?

by ch_123 7y ago

fyfy18 7y ago

That should be true for any charitable donation - I'm surprised it isn't already. I wonder if the directors could face loosing their limited liability for this.

Jonnax 7y ago

"Its founder, director and senior pastor is Jeffrey William Wright, known as “Pastor Jeff”, who is the son of the founder of Wrightbus, William Wright. Pastor Jeff is also the majority shareholder in Cornerstone." This kind of thing really should be illegal.

earnubs 7y ago

> In 2018 it reported a loss of £1.7m, citing a difficult UK bus market and near non-existent overseas sales aggravated by Brexit. https://www.londonreconnections.com/2019/the-rise-and-fall-of-a-vision-wrightbus-enters-administration/ https://www.londonreconnections.com/2019/the-rise-and-fall-o... > It [Church set up by Jeff Wright] received more than £15m from the firm in recent years, most of which was donated while the group was profitable. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-49869944 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-49869944 I'm sure someone smarter than me can explain how Brexit was the cause of Wright's downfall, especially given Brexit hasn't happened.

earnubs 7y ago
> On top of this, comes the inescapable elephant that is Brexit. This may only be one of the factors affecting Wrightbus, but it is arguably the crippling final blow. Wrightbus is a Northern Ireland based supplier, dependent on parts and orders from the EU and beyond, a strong UK economy, and a stable period of national and local government. All of those pillars have been cracked by Brexit. None of those things have changed, or been changed by Brexit in this timeframe.
- mytailorisrich 7y ago
  Sterling has fallen because of Brexit. This increases the cost of importing parts, etc. from foreign suppliers. Brexit was also expected to have already occurred so customers may have taken a cautious approach regarding orders that may have spanned Brexit occurring. I guess there is also the issue of maintenance and sourcing parts from them during the life-time of the busses. It is not unreasonable to accept that Brexit may have caused customers to conclude that it was safer to pick other suppliers for the time being.
  - earnubs 7y ago
    Currencies rise and fall, the cost of Al (in the UK) was more expensive in 2010 than it is now. (And if you're a buyer outside the UK the fall of sterling would be a good thing, no?) I'm having a hard time getting past the relative difference between the losses and the donations to Green Pastures, to blaming Brexit.
- michaelt 7y ago
  If you’re an investor making a 5 year investment, or a foreign customer making an order for delivery over a year and spare parts for years thereafter, the levels of tariffs are pretty important, no?
  - earnubs 7y ago
    If you make a deal to buy a bus (or 1000) today, what tariff would you be incurring as a result of Brexit? And if we're post Brexit, what tariff is the UK going to impose on a UK manufacturer that kills it's business?