 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。
0 V: V- D! [: j
7 d ^- U. C4 p0 C7 p% zFinning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.5 T0 x7 _$ r- \& t+ @& K
. K9 ^4 e' K' O; L
Every office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday.
& l; g# y3 z7 }8 X" y5 {/ {9 D# s- S: l3 _/ {
Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.1 z& J( q/ E' m* X' E
- f. k7 _. l# l. m! u# p1 t"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." e3 v* {1 |/ `( [! B! U
3 c* N# |, g7 C( l" e- ^2 @
It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.
0 y) \ R) G; J8 C$ \$ L/ f/ G5 ^1 h6 M
No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.' @" J2 M2 h1 K9 |$ j
* |, k8 ]% r2 A5 @ c5 e. s/ s
In fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.+ [+ [1 J: V; i1 K" q
3 u1 P1 \) h+ o
"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.; f" X: E q2 [, W: \& C6 |
( O ? w6 a9 h: h: w5 ]4 h. u"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."
: [$ J# Z' O* H1 V9 C- Z
! ]8 X. |, @. b( [; d$ JThe recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.
- _ }! _; t; w& m6 A/ g; Z: w M2 m% U! P
"We're still very busy in the oilsands."- `7 U" f4 I/ `! E" p! ]7 n
5 m5 x2 e- _2 n
Hunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.+ B1 Q4 k# i' r/ r* n9 @1 P* X# M% P
! d3 }% |3 D0 q, K9 Y5 D
They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.1 b, m b2 x- `! F7 M" o! H
) |8 @9 X, {1 |! p; B7 s! i& ^The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.
) x. c- C) D' u+ u q( |8 Z; U! N' t- r3 ^
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.4 I1 z6 N* I2 W/ c+ @
. c; A* \/ k! }, Q9 A( c
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.
0 d7 I% a; u9 I M8 m. _3 p6 t. {8 t# f, I( h+ Q% B1 j5 @
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 $1.33 billion a year before.
k, w( ]$ o- g% W
* t3 [+ ^* R: V2 O0 l+ `Its 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. |
|