MONTREAL -- Quebec's premier says he is keeping a close eye on Bombardier's business woes.
Last week Bombardier warned investors that it was struggling with a hefty debt load of more than US$9 billion. That led to a steep drop in its share price, with the cost of shares dropping more than one-third.
Premier Francois Legault said Tuesday that he's concerned about the company, especially since Quebec has repeatedly bailed out Bombardier.
"I've been following Bombardier very closely and unfortunately it's a company that's having difficulty. I can't say anything else," said Legault.
Quebec invested roughly $1 billion to obtain a 49.5 per cent share of Bombardier's C-Series jet program in 2016, only to see Airbus take over that division the following year, making Quebec's value shrink to 16 percent.
Legault said that investment by the previous Liberal government was a "mistake," and added that he hoped the province would not be asked to once again contribute to the company, especially since the Airbus program needs extra funding to ramp up production.
Several industry analysts expect Bombardier will have to sell off another division in order to generate cash flow.
