Bombardier-Alstom is trying to block the Montreal Transit Corporation from reopening an international call for tenders. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

Delays in awarding the contract to build new cars for Montreal's Metro system are starting to have an effect at Bombardier, the company says.

The company may be forced to lay off 185 employees at its plant in La Pocatière, Que., by the end of the year, a spokesman for Bombardier confirmed Tuesday.

The company has already sent out about 40 temporary layoff notices since May, confirmed Bombardier Transportation spokesman Marc-André Lefebvre.

The layoffs are due to a lack of contracts which has been attributed in part to the economic slowdown in the U.S., said Lefebvre.

The company is still awaiting word on the awarding of the tender for the $3-billion contract to build new cars for the Montreal Transit Corporation (STM), he said.

The contract, which was initially awarded to a consortium formed by Bombardier and French company Alstom, is now up in the air.

Bombardier-Alstom is seeking an injunction from Quebec Superior Court to invalidate an international public notice of intent seeking interest from other firms.

The notice was issued in January after the STM announced it was increasing its order from 342 cars to 765 cars, with an option to order 288 more.

Spanish manufacturer CAF has already indicated its intention to submit a bid.

The company said it could provide the cars for 20 per cent less than Bombardier-Alstom and is capable of respecting the demand that at least 60 per cent of the work be completed in Quebec.

The Metro contract is "very important" for Bombardier and the province's economy, said Lefebvre.

"A contract like the Montreal Metro can sustain around 12,000 direct and indirect jobs for … Bombardier and Alstom and [their] suppliers in Canada."

Though the layoffs did not come as a surprise for the workers, local union president Mario Lévesque put responsibility for the cuts squarely on the shoulders of the STM.

"The STM contract is a bit like the survival of our factory," said Lévesque. "Our order sheet is now empty.

"We've been waiting for the STM contract since 2006."

The layoffs, which represent one-third of the roughly 460 employees at the plant, will also have a serious impact on the economy of the province's Lower St. Lawrence region, he said.

Lefebre disputed the STM's claim it was obliged to post an international notice of intent.

"The STM has the right to say we're giving the contract to [Bombardier-Alstom], because it is a public transit contract," he said.

The transit corporation has still not completed its analysis of CAF's bid, said STM spokesperson Odile Paradis.

She declined to comment on the case, since it is before the courts.

A verdict is expected soon, said Paradis.