22 January 2014
Aeroplane manufacturer Bombardier has announced plans of a workforce reduction of approximately 1,700 employees and contractors at its facilities in the United States and Canada. That number includes 550 people in the company’s Learjet facility in Wichita.
The Wichita cuts include 200 contractors who left the company in December after their contracts expired and were not renewed, said company spokeswoman Annie Cossette.
Cossette would not say how many of the remaining affected workers involved full-time Bombardier employees or company contractors, or when the layoffs are expected to begin.
The Montreal-based company said the U.S. workforce reduction will take place at its Wichita Learjet plant and its effects will be felt across all the Learjet programs. The layoffs include both union and non-union workers in assembly, manufacturing, engineering, sales and aftermarket programmes.
Bombardier’s workforce in Wichita includes 3,000 employees and contractors.
“This is a decision, a very difficult decision we had to make in order to protect our business in the long term,” Cossette said.
She blamed the workforce reductions on global market conditions, particularly in the light-aircraft segment that has been especially difficult for Learjet, adding “The challenging market conditions for light aircraft are still persisting.”
The company said it will be meeting with affected employees in the coming weeks, and some may transfer to 100 other open positions in Wichita.
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