But Where?

Bombardier's board of directors has decided to go ahead with development of the new C-Series regional jets, capable of carrying 110-135 passengers. The question now is... where? In a release to ANN, Bombardier said, before it makes that decision, it would "seek firm commitments from potential customers, suppliers and government partners."

Montreal, Toronto and Belfast, Ireland are all in the running to host the final assembly of the C-series RJ. The CBC reports Montreal is the front runner -- but perhaps only because that's where Bombardier already performs final assembly on a lot of its aircraft.

That's also where the workforce made a powerful gesture in an attempt to land the C-Series plant. By a 91-to-9 percent margin, workers agreed to a new six-year contract that reduces the company's labor costs.

Wherever the plant ends up, Bombardier says it will initially create approximately 2,500 jobs -- a number that could well grow to 4,000 as production ramps up.

FMI: www.bombardier.com/index.jsp?id=3_0&lang=en&file=/en/3_0/3_0.jsp