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Aerospace manufacturer Bombardier says it plans to invest millions in the U.S. to expand its business south of the border.
The Montreal-based company said Friday it plans to add 800 jobs in Kansas, Texas, Indiana and Connecticut. It’s already recruiting for 500 of them, meaning the rest would be new jobs it plans to create through future expansion projects.
Bombardier says it’s earmarking about $270 million US to build infrastructure in the initial phase of the investment.
Expansion plans include a learning centre in Wichita, Kansas, unveiled last week where newly hired aircraft technicians would be trained, and a plane-servicing facility in Fort Wayne, Ind.
The company’s president and CEO called the American side of the business a “key pillar” of its growth strategy.
“Based on our constructive conversations with the U.S. administration, we see a bright path forward for our highly skilled aerospace workers as well as a positive environment for Bombardier to continue pursuing direct investments to grow our American footprint,” Eric Martel said in a statement.
The announcement comes after U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media post that Bombardier was investing in three of those four states, claiming it would create thousands of jobs. He also credited Sen. Roger Marshal of Kansas and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for the deal.
WATCH | Trump threatens Bombardier:
Trump tells Bombardier it can’t sell in the U.S. unless it builds in the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in a social media post Monday that Montreal-based jet maker Bombardier would no longer be allowed to sell in the United States unless it started manufacturing there, even though the company does have a manufacturing footprint in the country.
Trump had threatened Bombardier in September amid the worsening U.S.-Canada trade war, saying the planemaker wouldn’t be able to sell in the States unless it started manufacturing there — despite the company having a factory in Kansas and employing about 3,500 people in the U.S.
The president walked that threat back earlier this week at a rally in Wichita, Kansas, which serves as a home base for Bombardier’s defence division, after learning about the company’s U.S. operations.
“I always viewed them as a Canadian company … but now I find out they have a presence here, and we’re not hurting them if they’re in Kansas. So we’ll take care of those people,” Trump said.
Despite the timing of Trump’s change of heart and Bombardier’s announcement, a lecturer in aviation management at McGill University, John Gradek, says he expects the investment decision wasn’t related to politics.
“This was something that was not thought of overnight. This has been planned for a while,” Gradek said.
As for the investment itself, Gradek says the training centre will be needed to boost the amount of skilled workers in the profession and meet the demand for new jobs. In addition to the 500 jobs in the U.S. Bombardier is looking to fill, Gradek says the company has vacancies in Canada too.
“This is a aerospace industry issue in North America,” Gradek said. “The business is flourishing, demand is there, we’re short of people.”