It also manufactured the Bombardier 415 amphibious water-bomber (in Dorval and North Bay), and it currently makes the Global Express and the Challenger lines of business jets.

At one time, Bombardier had manufacturing plants in 27 countries, employing over 70,000 workers, but it has since reduced its workforce to less than half and sold some of its holdings.Bombadier acquired the state-owned Canadair from the government of Canada in 1986 and restored it to profitability.

[4] The sales of Canadair commuter jets and airborne surveillance systems, Learjet business aircraft and Short Brothers C-23 Sherpa cargo planes were growing at that time.

By the start of the 2010s, its most popular aircraft included its Dash 8 Series 400, CRJ100/200/440, and CRJ700/900/1000 lines of regional airliners although the company was devoting most of its Research and Development budget to the newer CSeries.

It also manufactured the Bombardier 415 amphibious water-bomber (in Dorval and North Bay), and the Global Express and the Challenger lines of business jets.

[needs update] In January 2012, the firm began manufacturing simple structures, such as flight controls for the CRJ series, from its first facility in Africa, near Casablanca, Morocco.

[17] In its 2014-year end statement, Bombardier Aerospace reported its employee count had reduced by 3,700, delivered 290 aircraft and held orders for 282 more; and also claimed "strong long-term potential".

[26] "Certification is a great thing, but 2016 is going to be critical for orders," analyst Chris Murray, a Managing Director with Alta Corp, told Bloomberg Business.

[23] Bombardier held negotiation with Delta Air Lines, the latter placing an order in April 2016 for 75 CS100 models with an option for 50 additional aircraft.

[33] Brazil and Canada engaged in an international, adjudicated trade dispute over government subsidies to domestic aircraft manufacturers in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

[citation needed] In late September 2017, the World Trade Organization announced that it would consider Brazil's complaint filed in February, including allegations that the Canadian government unfairly subsidized the CSeries.

[34] Embraer claimed that the subsidies are an "unsustainable practice that distorts the entire global market, harming competitors at the expense of Canadian taxpayers.

The Toronto Star predicted that the government would bailout the firm as bankruptcy would lead to the loss of some 70,000 jobs as well as significant exports, which had totaled $34.2 billion in the previous five years.

[55] In February 2017, the federal government agreed to provide $372.5 million in interest-free repayable loans, to be issued in instalments over the following four years; one third was intended for the CSeries while the rest went to the Global 7000 business jet.

[58][59] Bombardier CEO Alain Bellemare said the deal would raise sales: "It brings certainty to the future of the program so it increases the level of confidence that the aircraft is there to stay.

[60] On 8 November 2018, Viking Air parent Longview Aviation Capital Corp. acquired the Q400 program and the de Havilland brand from Bombardier.

[64] The Q400 deal closed on 3 June 2019; the new holding company, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited, inherited an order book of 51 Q400s.

[65] Also in late 2018, Bombardier sold its business jet training program to CAE Inc. for $645 million and announced 5,000 job cuts over 18 months across its 70,000 employees worldwide: 500 in Ontario, 2,500 in Quebec and 2,000 outside Canada.

[70] On 25 June 2019, Bombardier agreed with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to sell the CRJ program, a deal was expected to close in early 2020 subject to regulatory approval.

[71] Mitsubishi will gain Bombardier's global expertise in terms of engineering, certification, customer relations and support, boosting its SpaceJet (formerly MRJ) programme and enabling its production in North America.

[73] Bombardier retains the Mirabel assembly facility and produce the CRJ on behalf of Mitsubishi until the current order backlog is complete.

[75] Bombardier's CRJ-related service and support activities were transferred to a new Montreal-based company, MHI RJ Aviation Group.

[79] A last-minute amendment reduced the amount of the cash consideration and adjusted the overall valuation, enabling the parties to set a closing date of 30 October.

On 3 May 2018, Bombardier announced the sale of its Toronto Downsview facility where it manufactures the Global business jet family and the Q400 regional turboprops, for $635 million, leased back for three to five years to maintain Q400 production, while leasing a 38-acre (15 ha) site at Toronto Pearson International Airport to open a final assembly plant for the Global business jets.

[89] On 2 May 2019, Bombardier announced that all of its aerospace assets would be consolidated into a "single, streamlined and fully integrated business", resulting in the sale of its operations in Belfast and Morocco.