Bombardier axes UK jobs

AIRCRAFT and train maker Bombardier has announced nearly 1,400 job cuts in the UK as it reduces its workforce by 7,000 worldwide.

The Canadian manufacturer said around 1,080 jobs will go at its business in Northern Ireland while another 270 jobs will be lost on the mainland.

Bombardier, which bought Northern Ireland’s Short Brothers in 1989 and makes trains in Derby, has been under severe financial pressure.

It has been haemorrhaging cash since taking on Airbus and Boeing with a rival jet known as the C Series.

The wings are made in Northern Ireland where it employs 5,500 staff.

Bombardier said it will reduce its workforce in Northern Ireland by 580 this year, of which 200 are likely to be made redundant. The remaining 380 are agency workers who will be ‘released from their assignments’.

The firm said: ‘In addition, we expect to have a further potential reduction of some 500 next year. We deeply regret the impact this will have.’

The engineer has spent £1bn more than planned on developing the C Series and, after delays, airlines have cancelled orders. It has not received a single new order since June last year.

The firm employs 3,000 workers in Britain, with 1,200 at its Derby plant where it makes trains. It said it will make 270 staff redundant, managing the size of the workforce as projects come to a natural end.

A spokesman said: ‘In the UK we need to continuously match our workforce to workload.’ It did not say which sites would be affected.