THUNDER BAY -- Just weeks after a two-month strike ended, Bombardier is laying off 31 union employees .
Company spokeswoman Stephanie Ash says the news should not come as a surprise to Unifor Local 1075 members, who she said were told of the pending layoff earlier this year, before the labour disruption began.
Ash said the company is experiencing a lull in production as they shift to manufacturing the new crash energy management model of train, the last classic bi-level car nearly completed.
“There’s a little bit of a change in the two workplace requirements between the two models of vehicle. So some of those layoffs will actually be permanent layoffs,” Ash said.
“This layoff is not new news. Our employees knew this was coming several months ago.”
Ash added the layoff number was actually lower than first expected, with more than a dozen employees not returning to work when the strike ended earlier this month.
Local 1075 president Dominic Pasqualino told CKPR radio on Tuesday that he first officially learned about the layoffs on Monday, and expressed disappointment at the news.
