Bombardier to lay off 120 employees

The BRP research plant is shown in Valcourt, Que.

Quebec manufacturer Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) laid off about 120 professional and managerial staff at its Valcourt, Sherbrooke and Montreal facilities.

The company said it needed to make cuts due to the current economic context and the one to come next year, which is leading it to “ensure sound management of (its) expenses” on an ongoing basis.

“The 2025 fiscal year has brought its share of challenges, and we have adapted to the difficult environment throughout the year to ensure the continued success of the company,” the manufacturer of Ski-Doo, Sea-Doo and Can-Am said.

According to the list of notices received by Quebec's employment ministry, the cuts took place last month and affected 60 employees in Montreal, 47 in Valcourt and 15 in Sherbrooke.

The company said the layoffs “are not significant in proportion to BRP's workforce worldwide.” As of January 2024, it had around 20,000 employees worldwide, but that number went down due to “workforce adjustments” that have been made over the past year, the company said.

BRP points out that “the economic situation continues to exert pressure on consumer demand.” It expects the situation to persist until the end of 2025

“Over the years, we have navigated through many industry cycles, proving our resilience and strength. We are confident that we will make the right decisions to enable the business to bounce back when the economic environment improves, and ensure its long-term growth,” the company said in a statement.

BRP is due to present its financial results for the third quarter of its 2025 financial year on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 3, 2024.