Bombardier suspends production of regional jet, affects 660 jobs in Montreal and Ireland

MONTREAL_Bombardier Aerospace is temporarily suspending production of its CRJ200 regional aircraft to deal with a market slump, a move that will cut 660 jobs in Montreal and at the company's plant in Northern Ireland.

Montreal-based Bombardier announced it will make the output cuts in mid-January "to realign its production to the current market outlook for 50-seat regional jets."

The move will result in the layoff of the remaining 660 of the 1,135 jobs that were cut last August. The production cuts will take place at Bombardier's Montreal-area and Belfast plants, starting in November.

The company said production of the Challenger 850 business aircraft, the corporate version of the CRJ200, will continue on the existing assembly line.

As well, the aircraft maker plans to resume production of its Bombardier 415 amphibious firefighting aircraft to meet expected demand in the coming years.

The total number of layoffs is expected to be affected by the new production of Bombardier 415 planes and the positive effect of increased Bombardier business aircraft deliveries, the company said.

The total number of Bombardier aircraft deliveries for this 2005-2006 fiscal year will remain, as planned, about the same as last year, Bombardier said.

"In the last 13 years, the CRJ200 aircraft's success has been a great asset for Bombardier." Pierre Beaudoin, president and chief operating officer of Bombardier Aerospace, said. "However, the combination of increased passenger traffic, lower yields and more relaxed pilot scope clauses are driving regional airlines toward larger capacity aircraft."

Parent company Bombardier Inc. is one of Canada's biggest industrial companies, producing regional aircraft, business jets and rail transportation equipment.