Bombardier cuts 5,000 jobs and sells Q Series airliner program

A Bombardier Q400 turboprop regional
airliner.
Bombardier

• Bombardier announced a major
  overhaul of its business on Thursday that includes the sale of
  more than $900 million in assets and the loss of 5,000 jobs as
  part of its third-quarter earnings report.
• The company sold its Q Series turboprop airliner
  business to Viking Air for $300 million and its business
  aircraft flight and technical training business to CAE for $645
  million.
• The deals are expected to net the company $900
  million. 
• The company will also lay off 5,000 employees over the
  next 12 to 18 months. 

Canadian industrial giant Bombardier
announced a major overhaul of its business on Thursday that
includes the sale of $900 million in assets and the loss of 5,000
jobs as part of its third-quarter earnings report.

The company looks to be retrenching its resources to its rail
transportation and business aviation activities. In fact,
Bombardier announced that it is moving engineering talent to
its business jet division. Bombardier CTO Francois Caza will also
lead a new Advanced Technology Office, or ATO, that will apply
aviation technology to its train business.  

The Montreal-based firm has also agreed to sell its Q Series
turbo-prop airliner program along with the de Havilland trademark
to fellow Canadian aircraft manufacturer Viking Air for $300
million. 

The Bombardier C Series now known as the Airbus
A220.
Bombardier

The company also sold its business aircraft flight and technical
training business to another Canadian firm, CAE, for $645
million. According to Bombardier, the sale of these two assets
will net the company $900 million. 

The sale of the Q Series program comes one year after Bombardier effectively gave away
its prized C Series airliner program to Airbus. That aircraft has since been renamed
the Airbus A220. 

Read More: Check out the $62 million
Bombardier private jet that’s Canada’s answer to
Gulfstream.

“With our heavy investment cycle now completed, we continue
to make solid progress executing our turnaround plan,” Bombardier
Inc. President and CEO Alain Bellemare said in a statement. “With
today’s announcements, we have set in
motion the next round of actions necessary to unleash the full
potential of the Bombardier portfolio.”

Bombardier will also lay off 5,000 employees from across
its various divisions. The layoffs are expected to
take place over the next 12 to 18 months and are expected to save
Bombardier $250 million by 2021. 

Despite the layoffs and sale of assets, Bombardier saw earnings
jump 48% over the same period last year with a profit of
$271 million on $3.6 billion in revenues during the third quarter
of 2018. 

If you have worked at Bombardier and have a story to share,
please email this reporter at [email protected].