The head of Canadian jet manufacturer Bombardier Inc. raised concerns about Canada’s decision to review a contract to buy dozens of F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin Corp., the country’s latest response to the trade war with the U.S.
They aren’t wrong to be concerned, this absolutely will wreak havoc on their business.
But also we cannot expect that their business in the US was poised to survive regardless. Theirs is the business the Americans are most specifically looking to move to their domestic manufacturing. Bombardier is fucked but they were fucked on November of last year.
So the question is not if we can keep their US contracts up, but what else they can be making with their facilities and workers. Crisis and change can be hard but it can be opportunity too.
Seize the reigns, Bombardier. You’ve got a good seat at the table and can contribute positively towards how we reshape our country’s industry and defence.
Given their track record, Bombardier will probably not seize the reigns and will instead lobby for a government bailout. When it receives it, it will forget that it happened, decide it owes nothing to the Canadian government or populace, and not use the money to improve its products or strategies whatsoever.
I feel confident in saying that it doesn’t really deserve to survive. If continuing business was so important, it shouldn’t have fucked up so badly for so long. I was living in Kitchener when the GRT’s first LRT line was constructed and finished; Bombardier was wholly incompetent and that was a relatively small-scale transit project. There are many more examples of shitty product and business deals across industries in Canada and around the world.
“Cancelling the F-35s might be a good idea, but we need to think about it,” Bombardier Chief Executive Officer Eric Martel told a business audience in Montreal. “We have contracts with the Pentagon. Will there be reciprocity there?”
“Trump isn’t wrong on everything,” Martel said. “We’ve been hiding behind our big brother for a while, and we’re completely dependent on him militarily.”
The CEO seems like he’s on Trump’s side here. Why bother helping him out when he thinks we deserve the poor treatment from Trump? Let it die. If it’s really such an important company with important connections, sell their assets and transfer non-executive personnel to a (preferably nationalized) company that actually deserves a chance.
Bombardier has had an “opportunity” for decades. I’m sick of the feds letting it have my and other taxpayers’ money so that its executives can pop more champagne in some hidden room. Simping for corporations just means fetishizing being screwed over.
I’m not giving up on our manufacturing sector, I’m just giving up on Bombardier. Someone fucking has to.
They aren’t wrong to be concerned, this absolutely will wreak havoc on their business.
But also we cannot expect that their business in the US was poised to survive regardless. Theirs is the business the Americans are most specifically looking to move to their domestic manufacturing. Bombardier is fucked but they were fucked on November of last year.
So the question is not if we can keep their US contracts up, but what else they can be making with their facilities and workers. Crisis and change can be hard but it can be opportunity too.
Seize the reigns, Bombardier. You’ve got a good seat at the table and can contribute positively towards how we reshape our country’s industry and defence.
Given their track record, Bombardier will probably not seize the reigns and will instead lobby for a government bailout. When it receives it, it will forget that it happened, decide it owes nothing to the Canadian government or populace, and not use the money to improve its products or strategies whatsoever.
I feel confident in saying that it doesn’t really deserve to survive. If continuing business was so important, it shouldn’t have fucked up so badly for so long. I was living in Kitchener when the GRT’s first LRT line was constructed and finished; Bombardier was wholly incompetent and that was a relatively small-scale transit project. There are many more examples of shitty product and business deals across industries in Canada and around the world.
The CEO seems like he’s on Trump’s side here. Why bother helping him out when he thinks we deserve the poor treatment from Trump? Let it die. If it’s really such an important company with important connections, sell their assets and transfer non-executive personnel to a (preferably nationalized) company that actually deserves a chance.
I’m not knowledgeable enough on this topic to prove you wrong or even argue — but Bombardier have an opportunity to try do so.
If they can’t, we must act urgently because if they won’t use their factories and their workers, someone else can. Because we have a lot to do.
Bombardier has had an “opportunity” for decades. I’m sick of the feds letting it have my and other taxpayers’ money so that its executives can pop more champagne in some hidden room. Simping for corporations just means fetishizing being screwed over.
I’m not giving up on our manufacturing sector, I’m just giving up on Bombardier. Someone fucking has to.