Montreal-based Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B) has announced that it is cutting 5,000 jobs and selling $900 million U.S. worth of assets as part of its latest attempt to restructure its operations.
The airplane and train manufacturer announced the cuts Thursday morning, saying they're designed to help the company "lean out and simplify." Bombardier said that 3,000 of the job cuts will happen in Canada over the next 18 months and will save the company $250 million U.S. a year in salary and benefit expenses.
Bombardier also announced that it is selling its business aircraft flight and technical training unit to CAE (TSX:CAE), and will also sell its Q Series turboprop aircraft program to Longview Aviation Capital, for a combined total of $900 million U.S. Bombardier added that it is exploring strategic options for its CRJ regional jet program as well.
Bombardier has been undergoing massive changes under Chief Executive Alain Bellemare, with multiple rounds of job cuts and waves of asset sales in recent years. Most notably, the company sold control of its C-Series jet program to Airbus in a deal that closed on July 1 of this year.
The company also reported third-quarter results on Thursday morning, with quarterly revenue falling 5% year-over-year to $3.64 billion U.S. and an adjusted profit of US$0.04 per share. Analysts, on average, expected $3.87 billion U.S. in revenue and a profit of two cents per share.
On the back of the restructuring announcements, Bombardier also unveiled financial forecasts for 2019, with the company saying it's aiming for at least $18 billion U.S. in revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) reaching as high as $1.8 billion U.S.
