Bombardier lays off 715 aerospace workers but rail division solid
Thursday, November 26, 2009 at 01:07PM Bombardier's aerospace division continues to struggle in the face of slowing sales, particularly of its CRJ family of aircraft, the regional jets that have been a mainstay of the aerospace unit. With the announcement today of 715 more layoffs in the Montreal facility, total layoffs worldwide now stand at over 5000 this fiscal year. In spite of the latest layoffs, the company is continuing to invest in "current and future products including the CRJ1000 NextGen, Learjet 85 and GSeries aircraft programs," said Bombardier Aerospace CEO Guy C Hachey.
Bombardier Q400 aircraft for Air Berlin
Just last week Bombardier Aerospace announced that it is expanding services at its Dubai parts depot to meet the demands of customers in the Middle East. The facility at Dubai International Airport will provide parts for the CRJ Series, Q-Series and eventually the C Series aircraft customers in the region. This expansion reflects the aerospace division's commitment to “growing our fleet of commercial aircraft in the region and to providing these commercial customers with the same level of world-class service that we have in place for our business customers,” said James Hoblyn, president of customer services for Bombardier.
The situation is quite different at Bombardier Transportation, the Berlin-based passenger rail-making division of the company. There, a major deal to supply double-decker trains to France's state-owned railway operator, The Société des Chemins de fer Français (SCNF), is closer to being signed. Bombardier has been named the "preferred bidder" for the contract, meaning that it is in exclusive negotiations with SCNF, cutting out French rival Alstom SA. The initial order for 135 trains is worth an estimated $2 billion, with options for a total of 860 trains at a value of more than $12 billion. Assuming a signed deal this February, the first trains would be delivered in 2013.
Winning the French contract would be a major victory for Bombardier's rail division, which is seen as supporting the lagging aerospace arm of the company. In September, Bombardier Transportation won a joint-venture contract in China for 80 ultra-high-speed trains. Its share of that deal is about $2 billion.
Bombardier Transportation's position as world leader in rail technology and the world's largest rail manufacturer will be further solidified by a recent cooperative agreement signed with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), a leading research facility in the area of mobility. The five-year agreement will likely lead to the next generation of climate-friendly, efficient, more comfortable high-speed trains. Bombardier and DLR will work together on aerodynamics, acoustics, construction, energy systems and safety.
Bombardier's rail and aerospace divisions employ about 65,000 people around the world and generated US$19.7 billion of revenues last year.
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