Bombardier Aerospace has revealed that it will be reducing the workforce at its Montreal and Belfast sites by approximately 2,000 employees over a nine-month period, starting in November 2004. The company said that severance costs of US$26 million associated with the layoffs, means that it is unable to maintain its previous guidance of break-even at the earnings before income taxes level for the current fiscal year.

The layoffs come after Bombardier’s announcement that it would be aligning the production rates of its Bombardier CRJ Series aircraft with current and forecast market demand. The company has confirmed that aircraft deliveries for the current year will not be affected by the adjustments to production rates and will remain as previously announced.