(Reuters) – Canadian business jet maker Bombardier Inc said on Friday it would cut 2,500 jobs at its aviation unit and take a related charge of $40 million this year, as the COVID-19 pandemic hurts sales.
“Now with business jet deliveries, industry-wide, forecasted to be down approximately 30% year-over-year due to the pandemic, Bombardier must adjust its operations and workforce to ensure that it emerges from the current crisis on solid footing,” the company said.
The company is in the process of selling its rail business to French TGV high-speed train maker Alstom for up to 6.2 billion euros ($7.02 billion), and said last month that the deal has not been affected by the coronavirus crisis.
“These are permanent layoffs,” the company confirmed in a statement.
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Bombardier paused all operations in March in an effort to protect employees from the spread of the novel coronavirus.
It gradually resumed operations again last month, but had already reported a loss of $200 million US in its first quarter. The layoffs are just the latest in a series of struggles for the aerospace giant.
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In February, Bombardier exited the commercial plane business, selling its remaining stake in the A 220 program to Airbus, in an effort to pay off a multi-billion dollar debt.
That same month, the company also sold its rail-building unit to French train giant Alstom SA, marking its exit from the rail business.
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