Belfast-based rail and aerospace group Bombardier is to temporarily suspend production of its mid-range, 50-seat CRJ200 aircraft due to the current market outlook. No new job losses are expected to follow.
However, the company said it will resume production of its Bombardier 415 amphibious firefighting aircraft to meet expected demand in coming years, and that output of the Challenger 850 business aircraft, the corporate version of the CRJ200, will continue.
As a result, the total number of Bombardier aircraft deliveries for the fiscal year 2005/06 will remain, as planned, and approximately the same as the last fiscal year, it said. The company did not say what impact the CRJ200 production suspension is likely to have on its revenue or earnings.
The temporary suspension of the CRJ200 will result in the implementation of the remaining 660 of the 1,135 layoffs announced last August. These layoffs will take place at Bombardier's Montreal-area and Belfast facilities, starting in November 2005.
"In the last 13 years, the CRJ200 aircraft's success has been a great asset for Bombardier. However, the combination of increased passenger traffic, lower yields and more relaxed pilot scope clauses are driving regional airlines toward larger capacity aircraft," said president and chief operating officer Pierre Beaudoin.
He added that the company must continue to manage its production schedule to remain competitive.
