TRADE unions slammed engineering firm Bombardier yesterday after it announced 7,000 job cuts worldwide, with 1,080 in Northern Ireland.

The Canadian-based company said that 3,800 jobs would go across three of its aviation arms and 3,200 more in ground transport.

Northern Irish subsidiary Shorts, based in Belfast for almost 70 years, will see 580 job cuts this year and another  500 in 2017 — one in five of its 5,500-strong workforce.

The firm claimed that 380 of this year’s lay-offs would come from its “complementary labour force” of temporary and contract workers. “This decision by Bombardier is a real catastrophe for the working-class communities where these affected workers live,” said Irish Congress of Trade Unions assistant general secretary Peter Bunting.

He said that remaining job options for the sacked workers would be “more precarious, worse paid and with fewer prospects.”

Bombardier has struggled following the failure of its C-Series jet airliner venture, which has failed to compete with Boeing and Airbus planes.

Belfast Shorts workers voted by an 88 per cent majority in December to reject a pay freeze proposed by management.

Yesterday, Bombardier announced that Air Canada had signed a letter of intent — but not a firm order — for up to 75 of the jets, worth up to £2.7 billion at full list price.

But that potential boost must be offset against the projected £200 million restructuring costs of the jobs cull.

Unite regional co-ordinating officer Davy Thompson called on Northern Irish ministers to “redouble their efforts and secure alternative employment for those highly skilled workers.”

Unite Belfast Shorts branch secretary Joe Bowers pointed out that Bombardier had received billions from British and Northern Irish taxpayers since it bought out Shorts in 1989 and more recently 1bn Canadian dollars (£505m) from the province of Quebec.

“Bombardier expects risk to be covered by public money to sustain share value and dividends,” he said.

GMB regional officer Michael Mulholland called Bombardier’s announcement, on the heels of redundancies at Michelin and tobacco firm Gallaher, “devastating.”