Belfast aerospace plant faces job cuts

Canadian Bombardier Aerospace is temporarily suspending production of its CRJ200 regional aircraft to deal with a market slump, a move that will cut 660 jobs in Montreal and at the company’s plant in the North.

Montreal-based Bombardier announced it will make the output cuts in mid-January “to realign its production to the current market outlook for 50-seat regional jets".

The move will result in the layoff of the remaining 660 of the 1,135 jobs that were cut last August.

The production cuts will take place at Bombardier’s Montreal-area and Belfast plants, starting in November.

The company said production of the Challenger 850 business aircraft, the corporate version of the CRJ200, will continue on the existing assembly line.

As well, the aircraft maker plans to resume production of its Bombardier 415 amphibious firefighting aircraft to meet expected demand in the coming years.