WICHITA, Kansas – Aircraft maker Bombardier has announced it will layoff 1,000 aircraft workers - more than 600 of them at its Wichita location. The company said today (THUR) it will pause production of its Learjet 85 business aircraft program. The company blamed weak demand for the Learjet 85 aircraft. Officials say the move reflects the continued weakness of the light aircraft category since the economic downturn. Bombardier will also write down the value of its Learjet 85 program, resulting in a pretax charge of about US$1.4 billion. The world’s third-largest maker of commercial aircraft will also record US$25 million for severance in its first quarter of 2015. Additionally, Bombardier will reduce its workforce by approximately 1,000 employees at its sites in Querétaro, Mexico, and Wichita. The layoffs will affect 620 employees in Wichita. The company says that Wichita and Querétaro sites remain critical facilities. Wichita’s locations serve as the final assembly location for the Learjet 70 and Learjet 75, the Bombardier Flight Test Center as well as a Service Center.
