Trump threatened Canada's Bombardier over US production. Here's where the planemaker already employs Americans.
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- President Donald Trump threatened to ban Canada's Bombardier from US sales if it doesn't build here.
- The planemaker already employs thousands of people in the US and spends $2.5 billion annually.
- Both Republican senators from Kansas, where Bombardier's US headquarters is, defended the company.
Canada's biggest aircraft manufacturer has a larger footprint in the US than many people think.
Bombardier — known for making multimillion-dollar private jets for A-list celebrities like Matt Damon and Beyoncé — has been among the targets of President Donald Trump's escalating trade war with Canada. The aerospace sector was not among the president's latest sweeping tariffs, but he still floated the idea of banning Bombardier from selling in the US.
In a Monday Truth Social post, Trump said the planemaker is "treating America like a 'piggybank'" and must build here if it wants access to the US market: "NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES!" he wrote. "Their products aren't good enough!"
Bombardier quickly released a statement, and without naming Trump, pointed to the company's deep presence in the US: It described thousands of direct jobs across over 20 states, $2.5 billion spent across roughly 2,800 American suppliers in 47 states each year, and a network of offices, maintenance facilities, manufacturing plants, and service centers that serve its high-net-worth customers.
Its US headquarters are in Wichita, Kansas, where the Learjet was manufactured until the program's end in 2022, but now focuses on defense, flight testing, and servicing. It also builds wings in Texas and flight control components in California, and it has a large parts distribution center in Chicago that has operated since 2005.
It also has mobile truck response team centers — technicians dispatched to assist grounded aircraft in need of repair, technical assistance, or parts — based in 13 states.
Overall, Bombardier said it employs 3,500 direct employees in the US. And despite threats from Trump, it told Reuters on Wednesday that it wants to hire another 500, some of whom will work at a new service center set to open in Indiana in November.
Some Republicans have publicly defended Bombardier. In a Monday statement, US Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas said Wichita employs over 1,000 Americans and that he'd contacted the president to ensure he is "aware of the significant contributions of Bombardier to Kansas."
The state's other Republican senator, Sen. Roger Marshall, said in a Tuesday X post that he'd "fight" for Bombardier's Kansas workforce and that he had already voiced his concerns to the White House.
Bombardier and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It's not the first time Trump has threatened Bombardier. In January 2026, the president threatened to de-certify Canadian-built planes unless Canada's transport authority certified certain American-made Gulfstream jets. Canada did so a month later, and Trump's threat fizzled out.
Here are the states where Bombardier has direct workers. Much of Bombardier's indirect support comes from suppliers and authorized pilot training and service contractors.
ArizonaBombardier flew the world's longest-range business jet flight from Singapore to Tucson in 2019 using a Global 7500. It later broke that record flying from Sydney to Detroit.Bombardier
Arizona has two Bombardier facilities: a service center in Tucson and a mobile response truck (MRT) unit in Scottsdale. The Arizona Commerce Authority's website shows Bombardier employs about 1,000 people in the state.
Service centers can handle work on airframes, avionics, engines, interiors, paint, engineering, and batteries on over a dozen Bombardier jet types.
CaliforniaThe new facility in Moorpark.Bombardier
California's Bombardier facilities include truck response in Santa Ana, San Francisco, and Van Nuys, and line maintenance in Van Nuys. Line maintenance is routine, day-to-day work.
There is also a component manufacturing site in nearby Moorpark, which opened in 2025 and has a few dozen employees.
ConnecticutBombardier's Hartford facility has a FastTrack program to help aircraft mechanics get their FAA certifications.Bombardier
Bombardier has a service center in Hartford, Connecticut's capital. It's one of two that has a wheel shop; the other is Wichita. Reuters reported in 2025 that the site has over 200 employees.
DelawareTerminal building of Wilmington Airport. The only commercial carrier that flies is in low-cost carrier Avelo; its otherwise sees mostly private jets and smaller personal planes.Bo Shen/Getty Images
In February, Bombardier acquired Velocity Maintenance Solutions, a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility in Wilmington, Delaware. It also offers services for grounded planes.
Bombardier took over the Velocity team and its 35,000-square-foot hangar.
FloridaFederal and county officials join Bombardier executives to cut the ribbon for Miami-Opa Locka's service center in 2022.Miami International Airport
Florida hosts a Bombardier service center in Miami and truck response units based in Miami, Orlando, and West Palm Beach. In 2022, Miami's service center was expected to add nearly 300 jobs.
IllinoisAn aerial view of Chicago O'Hare, where Bombardier's distribution site is located.: Andrew Woodley/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Chicago is Bombardier's US hub for parts distribution, where it ships thousands of parts a day and employs about 100 people. The city also hosts a truck response unit.
IndianaBombardier announced the opening of a new Service Centre in Fort Wayne, Indiana.Bombardier
Bombardier is expected to open a new 64,500-square-foot service center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in November, to expand its footprint in the Midwest. It plans to hire 100 people.
KansasA test pilot flew a demonstration of a Bombardier Challenger plane at the Bombardier Flight Test Center in Wichita, Kansas, in 2004. The facility is still active.Larry W. Smith/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Wichita is home to Bombardier's US headquarters, and the planemaker employs over 1,000 people in Kansas. The city also has Bombardier's parts and customer response centers.
New JerseyA Bombardier Global 6000 in Teterboro.Bloomberg/Getty Images
New Jersey has a line maintenance station in Teterboro, which is predominantly an airport for private aviation. There is also a mobile truck center.
TexasBombardier celebrated the completion of its 100th wing for the Global 7500 in Red Oak, Texas, in 2021.Bombardier
Texas is home to a truck response unit in Fort Worth, near Dallas, as well as a service center in Dallas.
Bombardier also builds wings at its US Aerostructures facility in Red Oak, which employed more than 600 people when it completed its 100th wing for the Global 7500 in 2021.
Other states have mobile truck response centers.A Bombardier jet in Seattle.: aviation-images.com/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Many of Bombardier's other US locations are mobile response team bases rather than manufacturing or service centers. Bombardier has been growing these mobile response teams since 2013.
Besides the cities and states already listed as having an MRT, these do, too: Bedford, Massachusetts; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Charlotte, North Carolina; Columbus, Ohio; New Orleans; Seattle; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Dulles, Virginia; and White Plains, New York.
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