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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。
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( i0 G( k$ u$ G" r3 @* F6 jFinning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.4 g3 X9 ~, D2 F% b* s" u
- Y* y% D7 w" {% t+ ^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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3 q! \, {, h! s8 H1 S; }. D"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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/ m2 }3 y% M5 y+ J }7 r/ [; }It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.
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; q% f' _3 {) j) YNo 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.& [$ D& Z( O, B8 q1 A
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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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1 C3 g5 @% N9 B"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."3 `& \% K: a& e; E
4 `! g+ X! I* L3 n$ C! uThe recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.2 o" l3 U/ Y5 o& |! O
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"We're still very busy in the oilsands."9 {5 g1 _, h$ Y; p; ?: a
: s# G, X4 r6 q+ dHunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.3 E1 R% Q* ]2 J
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They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.( W' J% |0 }% `8 M& ^ L' D
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The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.0 A! t5 `0 F( c( O. V' s
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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./ u$ `: A' e0 a5 m
- \) {# R3 Z8 t1 [8 \- z5 ~% ~ qDemand 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.; i; c3 m, v, _5 a' x
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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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5 X: f( I/ i' c% ~/ [) OIts 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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