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Germany hit by Bombardier job cuts

February 17, 2016

Canadian rail and aviation giant Bombardier has announced it will cut its global workforce by a tenth as part of a restructuring effort. Workers at the firm's German facilities would also be affected, a spokesman said.

https://p.dw.com/p/1HwsM
Bombardier CS300
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Piermont

Bombardier reported Wednesday it was slashing more than a tenth of its workforce around the globe through next year.

The 7,000-job reduction comes despite the North American company just having signed a $3.8-billion (3.4-billion-euro) deal with Air Canada on the delivery of 45 CS300 jets, with options to buy another 30 planes.

The announcement of the layoffs was made as Bombardier released its latest financial results. CEO Alain Bellemare said the company posted revenues of $418.2 billion throughout 2015, marking a 9.6-percent drop for a year earlier. Net profit dropped by almost 50 percent to $326 million year-on-year.

Aiming for more profitability

"Throughout 2016 and 2017, we will adapt our global manpower to current market conditions, while hiring to support growing segments," Bellemare said in a statement.

"These adjustments are always difficult, but they're important to ensure that we continue to create superior value for our customers, be more competitive and deliver improved financial performance."

A spokesman for Bombardier in Berlin said Wednesday that 1,430 jobs would be cut in the rail segment in Germany, where the company has seven production facilities with a combined workforce of 8,000.

hg/pad (Reuters, AFP)