Thousands of workers in the North's beleaguered aerospace sector face an uncertain future after Canadian aircraft and train manufacturer Bombardier trimmed its profit forecast for the current year.

The firm, which employs about 6,000 people at a number of manufacturing plants in the North and a further 300 at Belfast Airport, saw its stock dive by 15 per cent on the Toronto Stock Exchange after the warning was issued.

Mr Paul Tellier, Bombardier's recently installed chief executive, said it was clear that the Montreal-based aerospace group's previous profit targets could not be met.

"We are already working on specific initiatives and will be providing a broader perspective on our plans when we release our year-end results," Mr Tellier said.

A spokeswoman added that the initiatives under consideration included lay-offs and acknowledged that some action might be taken before results were issued at the start of next month.

"We're still looking at the numbers," the spokeswoman added.

Bombardier made almost 2,000 workers redundant around the world last September in an attempt to maintain competitiveness. The firm has about 75,000 employees in 24 countries.

Bombardier has been the North's biggest single employer since it acquired Shorts in a 1989 takeover.

Analysts had widely expected Bombardier to fail to meet its profit forecast, mainly because turmoil in the global airline sector and budget cuts among big corporations are hurting the market for passenger and business jets.

Recent research reports on Bombardier suggest some analysts expect big write-downs in the firm's fourth quarter.

Montreal-based Bombardier, the world's third-largest maker of civil aircraft, cut its forecast earnings for 2002-03, which ended January 31st to 40-45 Canadian cents a share before special charges or gains. That was roughly half its earlier forecast for a profit of 81 cents a share.