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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。' k4 w v# z, i$ I6 O3 L8 p
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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. x- c1 |- w% J. u( D) v
8 n5 ^7 U1 R \9 @+ x# ~. `7 ?% KEvery office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday. V1 c& F5 Y$ \
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Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.# E* r6 U+ _4 j7 ^2 A
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"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. E$ c& c) S! c! |; v( f: y1 r# l
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It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.# S# J K; X6 V& B3 |
5 C: q# I8 X; A# G# pNo hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.
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( a) j3 w+ r# @1 NIn 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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2 A5 T) ]# W8 [7 j8 |"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."# l; A9 @" B2 a- g& L- ]
[! y" G3 z X' JThe 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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# l; H4 S8 g- d& t0 C' m9 THunt 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.
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The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.) i( ]/ Z# C% v/ _
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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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$ ^2 r$ a9 x2 k3 DDemand 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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5 c7 u" g& p" G( S! ]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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