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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。$ n0 b8 p5 T* v5 ]3 U6 U; g
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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.; W, ^! L) Y. O7 Q, T
5 y( R" E. h9 w. G% t; f* F7 F! xEvery office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday." _6 g3 B2 R8 b- a! a! L) ?
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Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.
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' ~! g; O" X8 _1 g# [: i" U"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.2 r Z5 J: e# q* v7 {. ~
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It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.
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! P5 \* s7 A! l( q; B5 r: _! f* M' BNo hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.
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In fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.
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?: _7 z9 z% Q"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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# ~5 Y3 l7 Y/ [+ P+ V"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."' Y; H+ J5 x) m$ z. M% V
$ z2 }) S4 }* d3 M: v4 o0 eThe recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.
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"We're still very busy in the oilsands."7 I$ [- u. ~5 K
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Hunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.
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They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.4 f s' P& E0 p9 Y/ F1 h
+ y+ k& O& P7 ZThe employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.
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6 ^$ J0 g& Y3 m$ J7 ^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.# t* b- {5 U. x
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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.4 C6 b( X! E! J6 b
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Finning 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 $1.33 billion a year before.
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" a+ ]$ U% \: `) y) Q& p8 rIts 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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