THUNDER BAY, Ontario — Bombardier will lay off 550 workers from its Thunder Bay plant — half of the workforce — effective Nov.4, the company announced last week.
A Bombardier spokesman said the layoffs reflect the “cyclical nature” of the railcar business and the completion of major contracts for Go Transit and the Toronto Transit Commission, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
A Bombardier news release also said the Buy America provision in U.S. federal funding for transportation projects was also a factor, according to a subsequent CBC report, company officials said they had “no choice” but to move some manufacturing to the U.S. and establish a U.S. supply chain.
Bombardier wasn’t complaining when a US company, Delta Airlines ordered 180 of the C Series airplane essentially saving it from closure.
It was when they (Bombardier) allowed it to drop into the hands of Airbus, did final assembly move to Mobile Alabama.
You see, money talks.
Don’t think Canada wasn’t trying to flex its money when the new CF-188 replacement went out for bid.
They really wanted to give Boeing a run for it with the Super Hornet bid, but Canada does not have a strong indigenous defense supplier base to draw from. So they can’t demand a local percentage supplier arrangement.
I feel bad for the 550 who were let go, but blaming the US and its indigenous supplier requirements for tax funded infrastructure is a reach. They need a export market beyond the US to stay viable for Canadian assembly.