Bombardier to expand U.S. operations, invest $270-million as threats from White House peter out

Bombardier Inc. BBD-B-T, under pressure from the White House to boost its footprint in the United States, said it is expanding its presence south of the border with plans to hire hundreds of new workers and spend US$270-million on new infrastructure for its maintenance and service business.

The Canadian luxury jet manufacturer is actively recruiting for 500 positions across the U.S. and plans to create another 300 jobs through expansion projects, it said in a news release Friday. Texas will be Bombardier’s next pillar of U.S. growth and account for half those new jobs, the company said.

The plane maker said it would spend US$270-million to build out its five existing U.S. service centres, including launching new expansion projects for service hangars in Dallas and Connecticut. The company will add a sixth service site next month with the opening of a previously-planned facility in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Bombardier currently employs about 3,500 people directly in the U.S. and supports thousands more U.S. jobs through a network of 2,800 suppliers.

“This new wave of expansion and hiring reflects our long-term confidence in this market and our employees in America,” Bombardier chief executive officer Éric Martel said in a statement. “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.”

The announcement comes four days after U.S. President Donald Trump signalled at a campaign rally in Kansas that he won’t make good on threats to restrict Bombardier from doing business in the U.S., saying he “just found out” the company had a base in the state. The President said cryptically that he would be helping Bombardier “get themselves straightened away.”

Bombardier sells more than half of its production volume into the U.S. market, including to wealthy individuals and corporations. It has become a highly visible target in Canada’s continuing commercial conflict with the United States, in part because its aircraft can be regularly seen at airports across North America.

Bombardier announced last week it plans to invest US$50-million in Wichita, Kan., on projects including a new learning centre to develop aircraft technicians and mechanics. It employs 1,500 people in the city, which is home to its U.S. headquarters and the base for its defence business.

Last month, Mr. Trump criticized Bombardier in a social media post, floating the idea of a ban on its jet sales in the U.S. “Their products aren’t good enough!” Mr. Trump wrote. “If they want our Market, they must build here, and stop treating America like a ‘piggy bank.’”

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In January, Mr. Trump accused Canada of unfair trade practices and said the U.S. would decertify all Canadian and Bombardier-made jets until Transport Canada approved aircraft made by Georgia-based Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. The President claimed Canada was stalling the authorization process for the U.S. jets to protect its own aerospace industry, but the aircraft models in question were approved just weeks later. Gulfstream is Bombardier’s main competitor.

Republic Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas has said Bombardier is “obligated to grow” its footprint in the state, citing the 3,000 people it used to employ when its former Learjet unit was still making new aircraft. “America buys more than half of what Bombardier sells. If that’s the market, more of those planes should be built here,” he wrote recently on X.

In a social media post Thursday night, Mr. Trump said Mr. Marshall and Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton did “an incredible job” getting the Bombardier deal done. Analysts, meanwhile, said the apparent détente between the White House and Bombardier reduces the likelihood of policy action that would have disrupted the company’s business in the U.S.

“We view the removal of this regulatory uncertainty as positive for sentiment as it alleviates an important headline overhang for investors,” RBC Capital Markets analyst James McGarragle said in a note. Bombardier is scheduled to report its third quarter financial results on Nov. 5.

Editor’s note: The headline accompanying this article has been updated to correct the value of Bombardier’s investment in the United States.