Bombardier Suspends Production, Furloughs Employees

Bombardier has announced that it will suspend “all non-essential work” at most of its Canada-based operations beginning Tuesday evening. According to the company, aircraft and rail production activities in Quebec and Ontario will be temporarily shut down “in support of the recent mandates from the Governments of Quebec and Ontario to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.” The company also announced that it would be furloughing an unspecified number of employees due to the shutdowns.

“Since the coronavirus outbreak, the company has been focused on keeping our employees safe, serving our customers to the best of our ability during these difficult times and taking the necessary actions to protect our business for the long term,” said Bombardier board of directors chairman Pierre Beaudoin. “In addition to the actions announced today, Bombardier has cut all discretionary spending, is continuing the work on closing the previously announced transactions and is pursuing additional measures to enhance liquidity.”

Bombardier said its CEO and senior leadership team will take no pay while employees are furloughed and its board of directors will forgo compensation for the remainder of 2020. The work suspension is currently in place until April 26, 2020.