Quebec’s aerospace industry is forming a common front in an attempt to keep thousands of highly-skilled jobs in Quebec after Bombardier's recent announcement of 5,000 layoffs, half of them in Quebec.

The companies are creating a program to put those who lose their jobs in touch with aerospace companies that are hiring.

The province’s new economy minister met with 20 CEOs and company presidents from the aerospace industry Monday morning to discuss the matter.

"They understand that talent means business. If we don't have the right talent, and if we don't keep these talents in our ecosystem, we'll lose our positioning worldwide because they're the ones that make things happen," said Suzanne Benoit of Aero Montreal.

Dave Chartrand, a union representative for Bombardier employees, said he was pleased by the turnout.

"We had a lot of CEOs, we had a lot of people around the table who were owners of the company, who were sitting down around the table and discussing possible solutions to make sure we have the smallest impact possible on the 2,500 people," said Chartrand.

Bombardier CEO a no-show

One person not in attendance was Bombardier CEO Alain Bellemare who had other meetings to attend.

Company spokesperson Olivier Marcil said Bellemare has recently spoken with the provincial government about the layoffs and other matters.

“Mr. Bellemare and I will meet soon to talk about this and ways to avoid future surprises,” said Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon.

Most will undoubtedly want to stay in their field of expertise, which may be possible for those who worked on Bombardier's Q400 turboprop, which was sold last week to Longview Aviation Capital for US$300 million.

Longview, whose subsidiary Viking Air Ltd. makes turboprop aircraft such as the Twin Otter, has said it intends to maintain the existing supply chains for the Q400 planes, and to keep manufacturing in Canada.

The Twin Otter, however, is made in British Columbia, so it's possible Viking/Longview could move Q400 production out west. Bombardier built the Q400 in Toronto, on a property that is on lease until 2021, with the possibility of a two-year extension.

“We are in a healthy industry so we should stop bashing this industry, because we are hurting ourselves,” said Fitzgibbon.