Bombardier Aerospace is cutting 1,700 jobs in North America.
More than 1,000 jobs will be eliminated in Quebec, with an additional 600 in the United States.
The company says 300 positions were cut in December and the remaining employees will be notified in the weeks to come.
"We're looking at positions in manufacturing and assembly, sales and after sales, a lot of support functions across different sites, different business units, etc cetera," said Bombardier Aerospace spokesperson Haley Dunne.
Calling it a "cost containment measure" while they invest heavily in new aircraft, the company said last week's announcement of a delay in the launch of the C-Seres has nothing to do with job cuts.
"That's not directly related to this announcement. Of course, there are many different factors that impact the financial results of the company," said Dunne.
Bombardier has had mixed results as it develops the C-Series jet. The first plane had its maiden voyage last year, and now the first planes may not be delivered to customers until 2015.
Dunne said, however, the company has several hundred job openings in the development side of its business.
"What we are doing of course is looking at the positions we've cut, looking at the affected employees, and seeing if their profiles match the open positions. So the 1,100 number can come down," said Dunne.
President of the union International Association of Machinists– Center for Administering Rehabilitation and Employment Services David Chartrand said the job openings are somewhat reassuring.
"Yes it is, even though it's never funny. Even if you get laid off for one day, people need to work, people need to put food on their tables for their families and things like that, so even one layoff is too many. It's never funny for them," he said.
Business analyst Karl Moore of the McGill University Faculty of Management said Bombardier didn't have a choice in making the cuts,
"Bombardier's got to cut costs right now, because the revenues they anticipated are not coming in. Part of it is because of a slow economy, part of it is because the C-Series and the Lear 85 are later than anticipated," he said.
Meanwhile some of Bombardier's suppliers are doing well, with the provincial government investing $19 million in engine-maker Pratt & Whitney's south shore plant, and fuselage maker Aérolia is now moving into Mirabel.
Last year Bombardier sold off its Flexjet division for $185 million.
The transportation side of the company is reportedly facing roughly USD $490 million in penalties for being two years late in delivering trains to Swiss Federal Railways.
