R&D hit hard in Bombardier layoffs

Bombardier Inc is laying off 7,000 employees including 800 personnel engaged in aerospace product development engineering as part of a company restructuring prompted by cost overruns and weak sales of its C Series regional aircraft. The cuts come as the Montreal-based firm secured a new order for up to 75 of its C300 jets from Air Canada and it lobbies the federal government for $1 billion in assistance. Last October, the Quebec government provided Bombardier with a US$12-billion loan in return for a 49.5% interest in a new limited partnership that controls the assets, liabilities and obligations of the C Series program. In November, it sold a 30% share in its train division to Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec for US$1.5 billion. Bombardier is currently ranked as Canada's top corporate R&D performer with $2 billion in outlays in 2014, down 7.8% from $2.2 billion spent in 2013. The downsizing was announced as the company reported its Q4 financial results for 2015, reporting annual revenue of $18.2 billion and a order backlog of $59.2 billion for all of its divisions. The firm's stock price is hovering at around $1, compared to an all-time high of $26 in 2000.