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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。7 ^: r! q% ?1 y z {0 S d! y. I
& b6 l: u5 J- n* GFinning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.$ _! |# V# ~# g" b, n# V
0 c9 e \! a! A, U" Y% v$ hEvery 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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: U, d7 g: i; B+ F7 ^8 {Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.
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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. W; e( j; G: {% Q1 P
% V+ Q$ x/ z8 r/ bIt brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.- s" G* {5 k j+ z, h1 P2 }& R
' x$ B! M( k* A( p, 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.- R# A; F: }* C9 W) Z# i- Y( t* T
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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 Q7 D& W g0 ? a"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."& ?. S, t( Y( Y0 h4 G
1 Z) @2 i' c; v6 U0 R' E% M) vThe recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.9 o5 j, i4 o/ I* I# c# r
* a& m3 W" h+ y' r9 e" Y"We're still very busy in the oilsands."
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" z* G4 c9 r) j) K$ Q! SHunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.& I% h6 r: w" l) n" d, M$ {) Y1 v
8 |' E- }5 r X g A$ \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.0 L) _! ]7 l1 O, j3 D: F0 _
' T; `; e* p1 g0 P7 l6 cMike 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.; _! Y: e7 [( ]6 X/ A0 |
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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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