January 13, 2026 marks 20th anniversary of closure of Neoplan USA’s Lamar plant

Employees of bus manufacturer Neoplan USA had their worst fears confirmed Tuesday when the company announced it would close its plant in Lamar on Jan. 13, putting an estimated 305 people out of work.

“We could kind of see processes through the plant slowing down,” said employee Maria Henry. “Right now, I’m just kind of waiting to see what’s going to happen.”

The company, which moved its headquarters to Denver last year but kept its plant in Lamar, is a leading maker of heavy-duty buses used by public transit systems. It operates on a license granted by the German bus company of the same name.

Though the company employed 50 people in Denver at one time, it wasn’t clear Tuesday how many remained. The company laid off 35 people at the Lamar plant immediately.

“By the middle of December, most production work in the plant will have ended, and we will be focused on activities essentially to ‘mothball’ the plant in a way that it could be re-started with minimal disruption,” said a memo to employees Tuesday from chief executive John Russell.

Employees will receive two weeks’ severance pay when their jobs are terminated. Russell did not return calls for comment. He is scheduled to talk to employees today at the plant.

In the memo, Russell blamed a downturn in the bus industry: “Despite everyone’s best efforts, we could not continue to operate against larger, stronger competitors.”

In 2003, Neoplan negotiated an internal restructuring with the company’s six lenders. The reorganization resulted in the bus manufacturer slashing debt by $39.4 million. When the company relocated to Denver, Russell said he expected 2004 sales of about $200 million, according to the Denver Business Journal.

Last year, the company cut 100 jobs. Russell said at the time the move was meant to assure that the company stayed competitive.

Rumors that the Lamar plant would be shuttered have circulated for more than a year. One employee said there have been signs on the walls around the production floor saying “We Deserve To Know,” reported the Lamar Daily News.

Prowers County economic-development officials were already planning a job fair. The plant is the single biggest private-industry employer in Lamar, a town of 8,800 people that is 200 miles southeast of Denver.

The county will focus on getting the employees back to work quickly, said Lisa DeLancey, economic-development director for Prowers County Economic Development Inc.

“This community is strong and will pull together,” she said. “I think it will turn around quickly. It will be a hiccup, but it won’t close (Lamar) down.”

Reports surfaced recently that Neoplan was able to deliver only 18 of 85 buses ordered by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

The Denver metro region’s Regional Transportation District has bought Neoplan buses. RTD is withholding $250,000 from the company to assure it follows through on extended warranties on some buses, a standard contracting procedure.

The Associated Press and the Lamar Daily News contributed to this report.