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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。' T! [" [ @, z9 r+ l9 [# o
/ _& T; s. b5 O0 l3 eFinning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.4 t8 Y, d }* k3 M
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Every office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday.
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Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.
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1 \5 x+ C4 ]6 O- l0 W5 V* \: j: F" a"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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; y. L, Q$ N" H2 y' d7 iNo hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.- |7 m+ H9 P/ F7 }2 w, ^; P
1 s4 c; k4 [. V7 x' w# M' oIn fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.# e F/ u; A3 l
& a. z7 e2 m8 {& 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.! j' t. K* \ w6 r
4 w+ T& _) G r9 q! d, H+ }, X9 o"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."# `, a6 R* H, z3 d; U8 Y
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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.# E: `- ~# b5 t
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"We're still very busy in the oilsands.": e W+ I6 w; }) s
4 i* ~3 g5 t Z1 B' |- h7 y' HHunt 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.3 _1 s A3 g4 m+ O
% v% D6 E- V/ s" R- `The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said./ T) N: G) ] i& J& @8 K0 o
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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.
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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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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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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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