Smaller contracts will keep Thunder Bay Bombardier plant open, company COO says

Thunder Bay's Bombardier plant will continue doing smaller-scale work through 2020, keeping the facility running while the company attempts to find larger contracts, a company executive said Wednesday after announcing nearly half the workforce at the city's facility will be laid off.

Bombardier announced Wednesday it was laying off 550 Thunder Bay workers in November. The layoffs come as the two major contracts being worked on in Thunder Bay bi-level cars for the MetrolinxGO Transit service, and streetcars for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) wind down; both contracts will wrap up at the end of the year.

How long the layoffs will last, however, is unknown, saidDavid Van der Wee,Bombardier chief operating officer for the Americas region, after he spoke to Thunder Bay employees on Wednesday.

"It's really about other opportunities, whether they are options for street cars for TTC, or maybe [the Toronto Rocket subway cars], it really depends on what else is in the pipeline,"Van der Wee said.

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On Wednesday, Van der Wee told CBC News the company is currently negotiating with the province on a deal that, if signed, would see the local plant produce 36 more bi-level cars, but that isn't the entire answer.

"For a plant that makes 160,170 cars a year, that's a step forward, but it doesn't go to fill the gap," he said of the 36 cars. "We have a cyclical business, and sometimes layoffs are inevitable."

However,Van der Wee said the company has taken other steps to ensure there's still work at the Thunder Bay plant.

"We moved work out of our Kingston facility, into Thunder Bay," he said. "We moved the manufacturing of ... about 20 LRVs [light-rail vehicles] from Kingston to Thunder Bay in 2019."

"We've moved other work from Mexico into Thunder Bay, from La Pocatiere [Quebec] into Thunder Bay."

Van der Wee said the local plant will also be doing assembly work on GO Transit cars in 2020.

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"That's not a lot of manpower, but what it does do iskeeps the place open, keeps the place going, and it opens the conversation up for the next thing," he said. "The next step, really for me, is all about the options for TTC street cars, and then, later on, maybe something for the Rocket."

However,Van der Wee said even if the needed contracts were signed immediately, it would likely be at least a year before the Thunder Bay plant was fully up-and-running again.

"It literally can take 12, 14, 16 months, depending on how long ago you've done that particular manufacturing work," he said. "It's not overnight."

• 'Layoffs are coming' at Thunder Bay Bombardier plant

Van der Wee said the fact that the market is "ferociously competitive" isn't making things easier for the company.

"I'm not afraid of competition," he said. "I think we can compete, but the reality is this: the Canadian market is only a certain size."

"The U.S. market is probably 10, 12 times bigger than the Canadian market, but the U.S. market demands,today, 65 per cent U.S. content," Van der Wee said. "They are moving, in the fall, to 70 per cent. This really minimizes the opportunity to export from Canada into the U.S., and makes places like [the Thunder Bay plant] really beholden, pretty much, to the Canadian market."

Apologizedfor leaks

Van der Wee also said he apologized to local workers, who found out about the impending layoffs through media reports on Tuesday night. Various media outlets, including CBC, ran the story after learning about the layoffs from government sources.

Van der Wee said he had intended for employees to hear about the layoffs from management.

"Unfortunately, we weren't able to achieve that," he said. "There were some leaks."

"But I think, our employees, they weren't surprised. We've been talking to them about this for a long time."

Van der Wee told CBC Newsin June that layoffs would be coming to the Thunder Bay plant, but didn't provide any details in terms of numbers or a timeline.

City doing 'everything it can'

Later Wednesday, the City of Thunder Bay issued a media release with responses to the layoffs, with Mayor Bill Mauro saying the city "will do everything it can to support the plant and the workers."

"We have been talking to everybody who is relevant to this situation and working hard for some time," Mauro said ina written statement. "We would like to see all parties work together to come to an agreement that would see jobs remain at the Thunder Bay plant."

Mauro also said he spoke with Ontario Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney Wednesday afternoon, and "underscored the importance of our plant to be positioned to bid on future contracts."

The city noted Bombardier is Thunder Bay's largest private-sector employer.

"The city recognizes the gravity of the situation and its impact on citizens," City Manager Norm Gale said in a statement. "Thunder Bay has always proven to be a resilient city and we will continue to address the needs of our community."