Bombardier cuts prompt opposition call for Quebec to renegotiate bailout

Quebec's opposition parties are calling on the government to renegotiate its bailout deal with Bombardier after the company announced it will be cutting 7,000 jobs, including 2,400 in the province.

Parti QubcoisLeader Pierre Karl Pladeau saidPremier PhilippeCouillardshould callPrime Minister JustinTrudeauto ask for alifelinefor Bombardier similar to Ontario's deal with the federal government over the auto industry bailout,saidPladeauata news conference early Wednesday.

• Bombardier to cut 7,000 jobs over 2 years
• Philippe Couillard defends Bombardier bailout
• Trudeau's new government to face early pressure on Bombardier bailout decision

Couillard stood by theprovincial government's decision to help Bombardier with a $1.32-billion subsidy last fall.

"We invested in the sector of Bombardier that is growing," Couillard told reporters.

The governmentisinvesting the money inthecompany'sCSeries jet,which is about two years behind schedule.Air Canada announced today it will buy up to75of theCS300aircraft.

CoalitionAvenirQubecLeaderFranoisLegaultsaidit's not too late for the government to renegotiate the bailout, since the money has not yet been delivered.

"There are no guarantees on Bombardier's assets and there are no guarantees on jobs in Quebec and on keeping the headquarters in Quebec," Legault said. "It's the government's responsibility to get the best deal possible for taxpayers and to keep jobs here."

Layoffs not a bigsurprise to union

The job cuts will begin at theMontreal-based aerospace and rail equipment companyin the coming weeks and will be completed by 2017.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents 4,500 workers in Quebec, says Bombardier's announcement is not a huge surprise, but it is a major concern.

"There were rumours in the plants inpast weeks, but the sheer size of the layoffs is quite a surprise and a blow to the membership," said the union's Quebecco-ordinator,DavidChartrand.

Local layoffs might be cushioned by an increase inmanufacturing of CSeries jets, Chartrand said, but theunion doesn'tknow who will be affected.

"We will work for the members affected so that theycan benefit, whether that be the opportunity of relocating or a training program that will let them find a job quickly,"Chartrand,said.

"We're looking at all possible options."

Bombardierbailouts by the numbers

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Let the market do its job: think-tank

A Montreal-based think-tank said a government bailout with strings attachedwould be a mistake, and urged leaders to let Bombardier restructure itself in peace.

TheMontreal Economic Institute says thecompany must respond to the reality of the market, which includes weak demand for its planes.

"Artificially maintaining jobs that do not correspond to the company's current needs would be a mistake that, far from saving jobs, would ultimately end up destroying even more of them," economist Mathieu Bdardwrote.

"Flexibility and the option of shedding a portion of its personnel, now redundant, are important preconditions for an eventual return to growth and sustainable employment."