Recession ripple: Bus maker cuts 100 jobs

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, March 24 (UPI) -- The top bus manufacturer in North America, New Flyer Industries, said effects from the recession forced it to lay off 100 Canadian and U.S. workers.

At company headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Chief Executive Officer Paul Soubry told the Winnipeg Sun the cuts affected 78 salaried positions and 22 unionized position. Most of the jobs were in Winnipeg, but some affected workers in Minnesota.

Soubry said fourth-quarter revenue declined by nearly 18 percent last year and further declines were forecast this year.

The CEO said the slump can be attributed to the economic recession.

"Most of our world is publicly funded, so when recession and troubled economic times hit in '08 and '09 there was still a lot of government money still in the system," he said. "As you went through the reductions of the economy ... a lot of our customers now are finding themselves in real funding pressures."

The company's Winnipeg workforce is now around 1,050 and the number of unionized workers is less than half of what is was 10 years ago, the Winnipeg Free Press reported.