Struggling plane and train maker Bombardier Inc. has announced a second round of job cuts this year, with plans to eliminate 7,500 jobs – or 10 per cent of its workforce – including 2,000 in Canada.

This comes on top of 7,000 jobs due to be eliminated by end of next year, first announced in February.

“These are tough actions we need to take to make the business more profitable and succeed in the future,” said company spokesman Simon Letendre.

Of the 2,000 positions to be cut across Canada, 1,500 are in Quebec. Two-thirds of the global positions will be in transportation and nearly 2,500 in aerospace – to be eliminated by end of 2018.

Scott Mcilmoyle, president of Local 112, which represents workers at the Downsview plant, which builds both business jets and Q400 turboprops, said it appears his members won’t be affected.

“Right now, we don’t know for certain but it appears to be indirect jobs,” he said, referring to management, administrative and support jobs instead of direct production jobs.

Mcilmoyle noted that the Downsview plant had already taken a hit when Bombardier slowed production of business jets, due to weakening demand in 2015.

“We have about 1,500 members in Local 112 — a year ago, it was close to 1,900,” he said, attributing the drop in membership to a mix of job cuts and retirements.

Bombardier’s Letendre said the company will do strategic hiring as the company moves from development to production for the CSeries jets and Global 7000 business jet, which will be built at Toronto’s Downsview plant.

The company has also moved rail production to Kingston so workers can focus on Metrolinx’s light rail vehicle order, while the Thunder Bay plant works exclusively on the TTC’s long delayed streetcars.

“Bombardier has assured us that today’s news has no impact on our order,” said TTC spokesman Brad Ross, who expects the 25th streetcar to arrive in the next day or so.

Bombardier was supposed to have supplied 73 of the TTC’s new fleet of 204 streetcars by the end of 2015, but the TTC has just 24 in service. Bombardier has promised to deliver 30 by year’s end and 70 by the end of 2017.

In February, the Montreal-based plane and train maker announced plans to cut 7,000 positions by the end of 2017, including up to 2,000 contractors and 800 production development engineers.

Bombardier said the latest round of job cuts designed to save about $300 million (U.S.) a year are part of its recovery plan launched last year to improve its profitability and competitiveness by 2020.

“I know these aren’t easy decisions in the short-term but they are the right decisions to ensure the future of the company,” CEO Alain Bellemare said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

Having reduced the risk of the company last year, he said this step will make Bombardier stronger by cutting costs so it can keep investing and winning in both the rail and plane businesses.

The job losses will be partially offset by more than 3,700 strategic hirings as Bombardier ramps up production of its CSeries commercial jet and new Global 7000 business aircraft, along with delivering rail contracts to customers such as the Toronto Transit Commission and Metrolinx.

Bellemare said the new jobs will be added in low-cost countries and more established higher cost operations.

“It’s the only way that we can protect the thousands of jobs in the industry and at Bombardier. It’s a very competitive industry and it’s important to take the necessary steps to remain competitive in this context.”

The new Global 7000 business aircraft, which is expected to have its first flight later this year, will be built at Toronto’s Downsview facility, while the CSeries is assembly at Mirabel, Quebec.

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Earlier this year, unionized workers at Downsview also agreed to permit work on the cockpit and wing to be outsourced, likely to China and Mexico, to cut costs. The move is expected to eliminate 200 jobs in Toronto.

Bombardier said it expects to record between $225 million and $275 million (U.S.) in restructuring charges starting in the fourth quarter.

The company said the latest restructuring will include the streamlining of administrative and other non-production related functions and creation of centres of excellence for design, engineering and manufacturing in aerospace and rail transportation.

The manufacturer has been struggling because of heavy spending on new aircraft, a slowdown in business jet demand and production challenges for its railway products. It also faces large pension obligations.

Bombardier has received a $1 billion (U.S.) investment in the CSeries from the Quebec government, sold a 30 per cent stake in Bombardier Transportation to Quebec’s pension fund manager, the Caisse de depot, and has requested a $1 billion (U.S.) infusion from the federal government.

In recent weeks, federal Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains has signalled Ottawa is ready to investment in the aerospace giant, saying it is not a matter of when, but how it will be done.

Bains has said Ottawa wants Bombardier to keep its head office and the jobs connected to its research and development activities in the country.

Bellemare said the job cuts are necessary to ensure Bombardier’s long-term growth and have nothing to do with ongoing negotiations with the federal government.

He wouldn’t say if other decisions, including the rumoured sale of the Learjet business jet platform, are yet to come.

“We will continue to do what we need to do to ensure that the company is profitable long-term and that we have the necessary financial means to continue to invest in the new platforms so we can ensure the company’s growth in the long-term.”

On its website, Bombardier said it has 31,200 employees in aerospace and 39,400 in transportation.

With files from Canadian Press and Ben Spurr

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