IAM Jobs and Quebec aerospace ecosystem preserved despite Bombardier’s withdrawal from commercial aircraft construction

For immediate release

Montreal, 13 February, 2020 – Bombardier sold its stake in the A-220 Limited Partnership (33.58%) to Airbus and Investissement Québec. The transaction allows Airbus subsidiary, Stelia, to take over part of the activities of the Bombardier plant in Ville Saint-Laurent. More than 3,300 aerospace jobs in Quebec stay in the province.

“Bombardier’s complete withdrawal from commercial aviation represents the end of an era,” said IAM Quebec Coordinator, David Chartrand. “That said, we already know the intentions of Airbus, which plans to increase their footprint in Quebec. So, this is the best scenario under the circumstances. We are retaining jobs and the Québec aerospace sector remains in good shape.”

The sale means Airbus will own 75% of the business and Investissement Québec 25%. Investissement Québec was created by the Québec government in 1998 to promote investment in Quebec.

Stelia will take up the work of manufacturing the cockpits, the rear fuselage as well as other components of the A-220. The company will also manufacture components for the Airbus A-320 and A-330 models – all work done by Bombardier for several years.

“Even if this story ends on a high note after months of uncertainty and rumours, our priorities as a union do not change. We will continue to look after the interests of our members and be there for them”, said IAM Local 712 President Yvon Paiement.”

The agreement between Bombardier and Stelia provides that the activities forming part of the transaction will continue to be carried out at the Saint-Laurent plant for a period of 36 months. A total of 360 workers, including 260 union members, will change employers.

“The IAM Quebec representatives have worked hard to make sure our members were protected in this crucial sector. We’ve done that. The hard work will continue, and I know our members are counting on us to preserve jobs and also grow the sector where they have thrived for so long,” said Stan Pickthall, Canadian General Vice-President of the IAM. “We have a stake in the sector, and we are determined to continue its success.”

The IAM is the largest aerospace union in North America with more than 184,000 members spread over 1,000 collective agreements. We represent workers in the sector, including at Bombardier, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Héroux-Devtek, Safran Landing, L3-Harris, AJ-Walter, Air Canada, Air Transat.

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For more information:
Guillaume Valois, 514-966-0915, g.valois@aimta712.org
Frank Saptel, fsaptel@iamaw.org