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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。4 T$ g6 W, F1 z' G: }3 @( J
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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.
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8 j' v5 I0 g) i& F9 ~# N9 KEvery office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday.7 m7 D6 \8 s8 _7 {- x3 z
4 R" n, q6 E1 fTwenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.
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0 v3 r9 S% u( @: w7 k3 e"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./ l) i7 h$ c. O1 r# v& }2 [" f
0 l3 Q2 v/ J- \) p R' u; m8 rIt brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300., ?, q$ i& @2 G
2 `* F. v/ M) O$ _* b9 y% HNo 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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"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.2 D0 `. o8 D; x9 U1 l
4 w) c7 c8 \' t4 B$ d: O' L"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."
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The 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."
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8 M2 w- Q$ K* t. `% \" d) ^Hunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.! U' Y" s, L7 Z' t }) K
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They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.6 v U2 ]: z* n Z7 I
% p( Q9 p" m+ Q' g0 QThe employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.0 F: ?1 d7 Y: O& m
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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. P7 R+ D! U/ G
6 G) q8 D3 C. }, c# t( oDemand 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.; V$ i9 g" x2 H( H
: b$ p7 f6 X, C1 RFinning 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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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. |
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