Canada’s Bombardier to cut 2,500 jobs

Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier announced Friday it will eliminate 2,500 jobs this year -- 10 percent of its global workforce -- citing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on demand for its business jets.

"With business jet deliveries, industry-wide, forecasted to be down approximately 30 percent 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," it said in a statement.

The cuts will affect mostly its Canadian operations and be carried out throughout the year.

Bombardier has undergone a painful restructuring over the last five years, selling off its trains and commercial aviation divisions.

The company that started out 80 years ago making snowmobiles was left with only one division, focused on the market for business jets.

Last month, it reported a US$200 million first quarter loss, due in part to authorities ordering a COVID-19 shutdown of its assembly lines.