Bombardier said on Tuesday it could not find enough customers to launch its planned 110- to 130-seat CSeries jet, and would redirect resources from the USD$2 billion project to its regional aircraft program.

"Without launch orders, we could not make a launch decision," Pierre Beaudoin, president and chief operating officer of Bombardier Aerospace, told reporters.

Beaudoin said the CSeries program was on hold, but not abandoned, as the company would continue to seek firm orders for the airliner.

"We believe the market is there. It's too early to say one way or another," he said.

Beaudoin also suggested that Bombardier was considering stretching its CRJ900 or developing a larger turboprop that would seat 80 to 100 passengers.

"It is possible that you would see a new regional aircraft before you would see a CSeries," he said.

Beaudoin said Bombardier had discussions with potential partners such as Russia's Sukhoi about the CSeries, but he declined to elaborate.

Bombardier said it will redeploy 300 workers from the CSeries project to other projects, including business jets, as it focuses on the market for 80- to 100-seat regional jets.

A team of 50 employees will remain with the CSeries program, with emphasis on including other partners, the company said. Bombardier obtained labor concessions from its unions to back the CSeries project, which would have created 2,500 jobs.

The decision to shelve the CSeries will bring questions about Bombardier's ability to add new aircraft to its regional jet product line as it faces brisk competition from Brazil's Embraer and emerging Russian and Chinese firms.

Production of Bombardier's original 50-seat CRJ200 jet has been suspended because of weak demand, and the company is focusing on its CRJ700 and CRJ900 stretch versions.

The CSeries was designed as a new aircraft rather than a further stretched version of the regional jets.

Bombardier, the world's third-largest civil aircraft maker, had lined up government funding for the CSeries project from Ottawa, Quebec City and London, but the funds have not been allocated or spent.

Bombardier was looking both for launch customers for the jet and for commercial partners for the project. Pratt & Whitney was designing a new engine to lower fuel costs and increase efficiency.

Northwest Airlines had been a potential launch customer, but the carrier's fleet plans are being modified as it grapples with its restructuring.