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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。7 P' A+ s; X6 D6 k. O
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Finning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.6 I7 u" ?& B5 ~3 Z/ S6 S
2 V7 K4 g0 c: E" v9 o7 Y+ w3 lEvery office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday., h4 E6 K% G8 B! U, _/ @" [
& O* }; C ?/ }1 d- d7 dTwenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.
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; R# o; L/ I- d9 M1 Y! C& G"It's the toughest decision we have to make in our business life, and it's been a hard few days for us," Hunt said.
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It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.
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No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.2 e+ v* v; X+ y/ g
9 M3 d) I0 x3 l8 r' m) V) D P) LIn fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.
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"That's the paradoxical thing. Even though things are changing, Fort McMurray (Alta.) is still growing, and we need more people up there," he said.
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"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."8 y2 h9 `! A6 m7 B
1 ?8 c8 y( V5 s' }( U* hThe recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.2 h# S+ Q* g F( l
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"We're still very busy in the oilsands."
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. X+ U) }9 }* j( bHunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.7 A) o% O. @% r+ L' {* J* l
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They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.! v1 ^& k* y% f/ n$ H, l
9 \# n# s: ~& IThe employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.
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Mike Waites, CEO of Vancouver-based parent company Finning International Inc., recently lowered the 2008 earnings guidance due to a slowdown in some of its businesses in Western Canada and the United Kingdom.! v7 v5 O6 `2 N6 ?) Y& q
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Demand for new equipment will likely soften and some purchases may be deferred, but that will result in an increase in its parts and service business - Finning's most profitable business - he said.
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7 q; T2 B, v+ e7 \7 QFinning reported third-quarter net income of $64.8 million compared to $63.6 million for the same quarter last year. Revenues were a record $1.46 billion, compared to $1.33 billion a year before.* G6 o& [1 Z: G) b
, O" ]1 z, |$ F5 l" b+ @& YIts order backlog has also grown to a new record of $2 billion, dominated by mining equipment, "and provides good revenue visibility for 2009 and into 2010," Waites said. |
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