Perhaps the most vital component in Bombardier’s C Series of single-aisle commercial jets will consist not of metal, pneumatics or electrical circuits, but money. By the end of last month the company expected to know the stakes governments would risk, as its February deadline for all to ante up approached. Unwilling to tip his hand, C Series program head Gary Scott wouldn’t reveal the number of U.S. states still in the game, but one thing seems certain: the provinces of Quebec and Ontario won’t let the prospect of 2,500 more jobs and the accompanying tax revenue slip away without a fight.
Quebec has already sweetened the proverbial pot with another C$750 million in loan guarantees for Bombardier’s foreign customers, bringing the total to C$2.3 billion. Of course, Bombardier also wants direct R&D loans, but Investissement Quebec’s seventh increase since it started backing loans for regional jets in 1996 no doubt raised the province’s standing with its largest employer. Meanwhile, the aerospace companies located in the Montreal Foreign Trade Zone already enjoy wage subsidies through Investissement Quebec–as much as 40 percent in some cases–and 25-percent tax relief on new building construction. Bombardier plans to spend as much as $200 million for a new C Series assembly facility, according to Scott.
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