MONTREAL: Canadian plane and train maker Bombardier Inc. will shed jobs for the second time this year, cutting about 7,500 positions over two years in a continued push to turn around its rail division.
The Montreal-based company, which has struggled in recent years with cost overruns in its aerospace unit, said about two-thirds of the cuts will be in Bombardier Transportation, the Berlin, Germany-based rail unit. The rest will be in aerospace.
Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare said he did not expect the cuts, which include 1,500 workers in Quebec and 500 in the rest of Canada, to affect talks with the federal government over a $1 billion investment in its CSeries jet program.
“We understand these are difficult decisions ... but in the end what we are going to be left with is a leaner, stronger organization,” Bellemare said in an interview. Shares fell 2.2 percent to C$1.74 at the open before recovering to C$1.77.
In February, the company said it was cutting 10 percent of its workforce, also over two years. Nearly half of those cuts are in its rail arm, which has a large staff in Europe. It had 70,900 employees as of the end of 2015.
The rail division has struggled to deliver on some high-profile public transit contracts, including in Toronto.
Bombardier to cut another 7,500 jobs through 2018
Bombardier to cut another 7,500 jobs through 2018
