Train and plane maker Bombardier Inc will cut one fifth of its rail workers and close seven European plants in a sweeping restructuring of a type rarely seen in Europe's job-conscious railcar making sector.
Montreal-based Bombardier, the world's biggest train maker and third largest civil aircraft manufacturer, said it lost C$448 million ($337 million) or 26 Canadian cents a share, in the quarter to January 31, due largely to the costs of laying off 6,600 rail workers.
That compared with a year-earlier loss of C$1 billion, or 75 Canadian cents a share in a quarter when the company faced charges related to similar restructuring in other units.
Bombardier said the cuts represent 18.5 percent of its work force in the rail division, which has 35 plants in 15 European countries. Some 86 percent of the job cuts will be in Europe and 37 percent involve white collar workers.
It said the program that will cost C$777 million over three years, but save it C$600 million a year.
The Montreal-based company took a C$457 million restructuring charge in the fourth quarter and expects charges of C$215 million next year and C$105 million in 2006.
Overall, Bombardier has 65,000 employees, including 27,000 in its aircraft-making unit.