“We are turning Bombardier around to make this great company stronger and more competitive”, said Alain Bellemare, who has been Bombardier’s president and chief executive for about a year.
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Uncertainty about the company’s future has caused deep anxiety among employees, says union representative Dave Chartrand.
The positions to be eliminated are mostly in Canada and Europe, Bombardier said.
Bombardier, which was helped by recent cash infusions from Quebec pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the Quebec provincial government, said it expected free cash flow usage in the range of $1.0-billion-$1.3-billion this year.
3,200 jobs from its transportation division; 2,500 jobs from its aerostructures and engineering services division; 800 jobs from its aerospace product development engineering group; 500 jobs from its business aircraft unit.
The job losses will be partly offset by hiring in certain areas, including the C Series project.
Bombardier Inc., the Canadian parent of Learjet in Wichita, said Wednesday it will reduce its workforce by 7,000 people over the next two years, primarily in Canada and Europe but also in Wichita.
With this agreement, Bombardier says it now has orders and commitments for a total of 678 C Series planes.
Canadian aviation giant Bombardier announced Wednesday it was cutting more than 10 percent of its workforce as the company undergoes major restructuring in 2016 and 2017.
But amid the bad news there was a sign that Bombardier could be reviving its fortunes: a letter of intent that could see Air Canada buy 45 CSeries 300 planes, with an option to buy up to 30 more.
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Back in January of 2015, Bombardier laid off a 1,000 workers. The company also did away with the Learjet 85 program last fall.
