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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。
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' D5 A: }7 K' I, C; g3 DFinning 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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0 p, y5 |- D: W: r7 r# o. Q. lEvery 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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& I) `- ?) T/ A+ }. G2 w% y PTwenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.
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1 e% ]+ L) k3 l/ d3 G1 u"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.* }/ `8 C R7 o/ f7 G
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It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.& P2 c6 c& G9 g! M' m
5 u! n' }8 j+ W( r, q% w/ e% tNo hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.# |+ Y! J3 g& S! j$ t- g- u
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In fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.3 Y. n( X# q& Y5 z. ^' v* N
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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.! X9 U i) T6 ]( Z
' a- ?' X7 q" w"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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B! Z9 F5 }6 L3 W, mThe 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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Hunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.: I/ |9 s6 s% C
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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.' R( p6 l! h) P9 z3 k. M1 {
& B# `* d+ j! G- @8 RMike 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 $1.33 billion a year before.
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5 Z: [5 Q8 c# ~# I6 {$ UIts 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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