Facing financial problems, the Montreal company CAE has just laid off 75 of its employees, all linked to its world headquarters in the Saint-Laurent borough.
The manufacturer of flight simulators and provider of training services for the civil and military aviation industry is on the list of companies having filed a collective dismissal notice with the Ministry of Employment and Social Solidarity.
The company’s management, led by Marc Parent, refused to tell us which units were affected by this new wave of layoffs. But according to the report filed by Quebec, at least 40% of the 75 licensees belonged to its health division (CAE Santé Canada).
Marc Parent, CEO of CAE.
Photo Martin Alarie
These approximately 30 workers were laid off on April 3, a few weeks after CAE sold this business unit to a Chicago company for $311 million. Their 45 other colleagues were laid off a week earlier, on March 27.
By email, management was stingy with explanations, other than to indicate that these cuts will allow it to reduce its costs. “The uncertain economic and geopolitical environment requires us to exercise caution and rigorously manage our costs,” declared its spokesperson Patricia Archambault. These layoffs serve to optimize our cost structure and improve our operational efficiency. »
Below expectations
The company confirms that this measure is part of a more global rationalization effort applied in several countries around the world. At the time of writing, however, CAE had not been able to quantify the layoffs carried out outside Quebec.
On February 14, CAE presented financial results that disappointed the markets. In addition, in the third quarter, profit margins in its civil division fell 20% compared to expectations.
The next day, Benoit Poirier, Desjardins analyst, published a report critical of the company in which he announced his decision to reduce its target price by almost 15%, dropping it from $35 to $30.
In March, Mackenzie Financial decided to reduce its exposure by selling $45M worth of CAE shares.
Over the past year, the value of its stock has declined by 4.41%. Shortly before 3 p.m. this Monday, CAE shares rose 1.54% to $28.43.
More details will follow.
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