Bombardier ‘Pauses’ Learjet 85

Bombardier has "paused" development of its mostly composite Learjet 85 business jet saying the market is too soft both for that product and for light-to-midsize jets. The suspension will result in the layoff of a total of 1,000 workers at production facilities in Wichita and Queretaro, Mexico. About 620 of the layoffs will be in Wichita according to KSN-TV. After a series of delays on the Learjet 85, the company went quiet about the project over the last few months and Thursday's announcement wasn't much of a surprise to some analysts. It had been rumored for months that three major development projects (the 85, CSeries airliner and Global 7000/8000) were squeezing the coffers at the company and the company confirmed that the 85 was sacrificed for the other two programs. "We will focus our resources on our two other clean-sheet aircraft programs under development, CSeries and Global 7000/8000, for which we see tremendous market potential. Both programs are progressing well," Bombardier CEO Pierre Beaudoin said in a statement.

The CSeries has also strained Bombardier's resources. A series of setbacks, including an engine explosion that halted flight testing for months, have put the program two years behind schedule. The company insists first deliveries will start by the end of this year but there is skepticism about that prediction. Orders for the new fly-by-wire airliner have also been slower than many analysts believe Bombardier had hoped for. The bright spot is the 7000/8000 project. There's been little drama about the aircraft, which will compete directly with Gulfstream's successful G650 long-range big-cabin jet. The 7000 is expected to go into service on time in 2016 followed a year later by the 8000 and there are orders for more than 60 aircraft worth more than $3 billion. AVweb was on hand for the launch of the Learjet 85 in 2008.