Bombardier to sell its Belfast aerostructures business
Above: Bombardier Belfast CSeries Factory.
With the release of its financial results for the first quarter of 2019, Bombardier announced today that it will consolidate its aerospace assets into a single, streamlined and fully integrated Bombardier Aviation business unit, which will be led by David Coleal.
“We are very excited to announce the strategic formation of Bombardier Aviation,” said Alain Bellemare, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bombardier Inc. “It is the right next step in our transformation. The consolidation will simplify and better focus our organisation on our leading brands, Global, Challenger, Learjet and the CRJ. It will also allow us to better support our customers and generate value for shareholders.”
“With our clear vision for the future of Bombardier Aviation, we will focus our aerostructures activities around our core capabilities in Montréal, Mexico and our newly acquired Global 7500 wing operations in Texas,” Bellemare continued. “Collectively, these facilities provide Bombardier with all the skills, technologies and capabilities to design, produce and service the current and next generation of aircraft.”
Bombardier said that as the Company moves to optimise its global manufacturing footprint, Bombardier will pursue the divestiture of the Belfast and Morocco aerostructures businesses, which it states are 'great businesses with tremendous capabilities'.
Commenting on the announcement ADS Chief Executive Paul Everitt said: “Bombardier’s Belfast business has a tremendous workforce and capabilities that are an important part of a successful aerospace sector in Northern Ireland and the wider UK. It plays a critical role in supplying components for major aircraft models, including wings for Airbus’s technologically advanced A220 and structures for the successful A320neo.
“The announcement made today will be unsettling for the workforce in the short-term and it will be important for Government, industry and the trades unions to work together to help secure the long-term ownership of the business.
“The skills, experience and capability in the Belfast operation means there is every reason to be confident of a positive long-term future for the business and its supply chain in Northern Ireland.”
