“All the major players in aerospace get government help; it’s the nature of the industry”, Moore said, though he admitted Bombardier’s bottom line is more challenged than Airbus or Boeing.
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As the second CS300 flight test vehicle prepares for first flight, Rob Dewar, v-p, C Series aircraft program, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft, said, “This last flight test vehicle is dedicated to cabin and interior certification, but we foresee a smooth road due to the flight crew’s familiarity with the CS100 aircraft and the high degree of commonality between the two models”.
Canada’s giant telecoms don’t compete internationally and the country’s big banks are insulated from foreign competition, he said.
Canada’s national carrier has agreed to purchase up to 75 CS300s from Canadian planemaker Bombardier, with deliveries scheduled to run from 2019 to 2022. It speaks to the competitiveness of the C Series.
“The entry of the C Series into our fleet is expected to yield significant cost savings”.
“Bombardier is in a better place today and we are on the path to greater profitability”.
GMB regional officer Michael Mulholland called Bombardier’s announcement, on the heels of redundancies at Michelin and tobacco firm Gallaher, “devastating”. He insisted the government had nothing to do with Air Canada’s decision to buy Bombardier’s planes.
It is understood that Bombardier’s decision to cut jobs is a result of its under-performing aerospace business.
“The quid pro quo is that we would agree to maintain the C Series airframe heavy maintenance in the province of Quebec”, Rovinescu said on a conference call.
Bombardier now has 678 total orders and commitments for the CSeries, including 243 firm orders.
Bombardier Inc. said the long drought in new orders for its CSeries aircraft had ended, but the plane and train maker reported disappointing financial results and announced plans to cut almost 10% of its global workforce.
Of the 7,000 jobs lost, the company says about 40 per cent – 2,830 – will be in Canada while the remaining 60 per cent are mostly in Europe and the U.S.
Bombardier, which has about 64,000 employees, expects to record $250 million to $300 million in restructuring charges in 2016 for the layoffs. That number is expected to keep growing over the next few years.
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Alain Bellemare, right, president and CEO of Bombardier Inc., and Calin Rovinescu, president and CEO of Air Canada, sit in the cockpit of a Bombardier CSeries Wednesday, February 17, 2016 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson. “These adjustments are always hard”. “They are important to ensure that… we continue to create superior value for our customers, be more competitive and deliver improved financial performance”.
