One of Canada's leading aerospace companies is making a massive cut to its global workforce. As many as 2,000 Bombardier Aerospace employees in Canada and Ireland will be affected.

Citing weak demand for its Canadair Regional Jets, the company announced the cuts on Thursday.

As many as 1,400 jobs are facing redundancy in the Montreal area, with another 540 jobs lost in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Some 260 employees at the St-Laurent factory will lose their jobs in two groups, in November and May. Other Montreal-area cuts total 310.

The Belfast staff reduction is set for January and July.

Another 410 will be cut from Mirabel in November and January, and the company's Dorval, Que., plant will face 460 job cuts next May and next July.

According to the Montreal-based company, it had little choice but to announce the layoffs.

"Given the context of the airline industry and the financial difficulties facing a number of our customers, we must continue to be prudent and proactively manage our production rates and delivery schedule to reduce our exposure to the cancellation or deferral of orders,'' Bombardier Aerospace president Pierre Beaudoin said in a statement.

Should a deal with the struggling Delta Airlines fall through, the company warned that as many as 1,200 more cuts could be added.

Because the $26 million US in severance costs for the 2,000 redundancies announced Thursday will come out of the company's current fiscal year, Bombardier said it can no longer meet its targets.

"Bombardier Aerospace cannot maintain its previous guidance of break-even at the earnings before income taxes (EBT) level for the current fiscal year."

Following the announcement, Bombardier shares were trading down slightly in early trading Thursday.