Ross Marowits, The Canadian Press Published Tuesday, January 21, 2014 11:13AM EST Last Updated Tuesday, January 21, 2014 3:37PM EST

MONTREAL -- Bombardier is permanently laying off 1,700 employees in its aerospace division, mostly in Montreal, as it steps up efforts to cut costs amid delays with two new aircraft and a tough market for both commercial and business planes.

The company disclosed the decision to its workforce in an internal memo that says affected employees will be notified in the coming weeks.

Human resources vice-president Sylive Bourdon said despite encouraging economic signs, challenges facing the aerospace industry require prudence by management to ensure Bombardier's long-term success.

"Consequently, stricter controls over spending must be implemented to ensure we consistently meet our budget throughout 2014," she wrote.

The measures are on top of cost-saving efforts in place since 2012.

Bourdon said the latest cuts will help offset billions of dollars spent to develop the CSeries, Learjet 85, Global 7000 and 8000, along with plant improvements.

Dave Chartrand of the Machinists union said the positions being cut over the next few months include 300 contractors, hundreds of engineers, temporary employees and others hired to work on special projects.

"There are guys that will be recalled but for now, between the programs that have been slowed down and the CSeries, there is a period where there will be a little less work," Chartrand said in an interview.

The announcement Tuesday follows several recent setbacks for Bombardier, which is the world's third-largest aircraft manufacturer after Boeing and Airbus.

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Bombardier laying off 1,700 from aerospace division