Quebec-based Bombardier Inc detailed the moves while posting its quarterly financial results, which showed the company lost $337 million in the last three months of 2020, according to CBC Canada.
In its full-year 2020 financial report, Bombardier announced broader cost-cutting efforts to improve operating profits in 2021, and efforts to reach a cost-saving target of $400 million annually by 2023.
Bombardier is becoming a pure-play business-jet maker following its recent rail division sale to French train maker Alstom SA. The aerospace company will end production of its Learjet, a business jet that has been around for almost 60 years, and focus on the more profitable Challenger and Global jets, according to Reuters.
“With more than 3,000 aircraft delivered since its entry-into-service in 1963, the iconic Learjet aircraft has had a remarkable and lasting impact on business aviation. Passengers all over the world love to fly this exceptional aircraft and count on its unmatched performance and reliability. However, given the increasingly challenging market dynamics, we have made this difficult decision to end Learjet production,” said Éric Martel, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bombardier Inc., per Bloomberg.
Bombardier said they will continue to fully support the Learjet fleet well into the future, and launched the Learjet RACER remanufacturing program for Learjet 40 and Learjet 45 aircraft.
Bombardier reduces its workforce
“Workforce reductions are always very difficult, and we regret seeing talented and dedicated employees leave the company for any reason,” said Martel. “But these reductions are absolutely necessary for us to rebuild our company while we continue to navigate through the pandemic.”
The overall workforce reduction amounts to approximately 1,600 positions. This includes 700 job cuts in Quebec, with the balance spread across the U.S. and Ontario, KSN News in Wichita, Kansas is reporting.
This means that in Wichita, the job cuts will amount to 250 people over the course of 2021 and into the beginning of 2022. The Wichita facility will continue to serve as the company’s primary flight-test center. In addition,
Bombardier has designated Wichita as the Centre of Excellence for its specialized aircraft business and expects the facility will play a leading role in future special mission modification contracts.
Unifor, which represents 2,500 workers at a Bombardier facility in Montreal, is calling on the federal government to do more to help the aerospace industry survive the pandemic.
