(The Canadian Press distributed the following article on January 29.)
MONTREAL — Industrial giant Bombardier Inc. has shaken up management of its rail transportation division and appointed a new chief operating officer of the troubled subsidiary.
Montreal-based Bombardier announced Thursday it had split up the post of president and chief operating officer of the rail division and appointed a new COO, Wolfgang Toelsner, a senior Bombardier executive in Europe.
A president of the division will be chosen by the end of March, the company said.
In addition, Bombardier said eight of the 10 operating divisions will report to Toelsner in a move to bring more efficiency and better supervision to the rail equipment operations. Meanwhile, the industrial division, previously responsible for the manufacturing network in Europe, is being disbanded.
“We firmly believe this new organization will improve project management, improve accountability as well as customer service, reduce overhead and duplication, and simplify the organizational structure,” said Paul Tellier, Bombardier Inc.’s chief executive.
A world-leading manufacturer of regional aircraft, business jets and rail transportation equipment, Montreal-based Bombardier had $21.2 billion Cdn in revenues for the fiscal year ended last Jan. 31.
In recent months, Tellier has warned of job cuts and streamlining at Bombardier Transportation to make it more efficient.