All Lines Affected …
Cost-cutting measures by Canadian corporate jet-maker Bombardier are starting to bite as the company scales down deliveries and temporarily closes production lines. Lines in Montreal and Toronto will be the first to feel the squeeze, followed by a four-month shutdown in Wichita, Kan., beginning in December. Because of the downturn in the corporate-jet market, Bombardier intends to deliver 100 business jets in the year, having originally planned to produce 140 aircraft. In Montreal, there will also be a four-month slowdown in the production of the Challenger, and assembly of Global Express planes in Toronto is being put on hold for eight weeks from the middle of next month. The cutbacks, which include 2000 layoffs in the Bombardier workforce, are expected to save the company around CDN$200 million (US $125 million).
… With Hundreds of Jobs and Learjet 31A Discontinued
It will be the end of an era and the end of 439 jobs — at least temporarily — on December 4 as Bombardier ceases production of the Learjet 31A. Sales of the decades-old design have slumped in recent years, and the company recently introduced the Learjet 40, which fills the size (six-to-seven passenger) and price niche of the older aircraft. The 31A sold for $6.3 million and the updated 40 goes for $6.9 million. The workers should have a better future than the 31A. They’re expected to be back at work within four months, depending on market conditions. Bombardier has also temporarily shut down construction of Learjet 45 and 60 models.
