 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。- @7 u5 B, W. ~
) ]3 I. Y9 N. H+ ^9 Q7 R3 w* EFinning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.
/ c( ]! [5 I% |2 d2 r: u9 d2 Q ^, |) G$ b5 |- k
Every office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday.
. e4 K8 g+ ~' M
6 V" z+ |2 I8 }# \0 L: DTwenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.' x& R2 `* X8 q6 G, {( P( w2 s
( [+ p: w: F# U9 @5 p! x4 g
"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.+ \9 f6 [. \! h3 i0 J
3 u7 X" a* g: n+ LIt brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.
" ^: O' K% w" ?2 S) a( z5 v. O9 I5 `- ^, X4 Z
No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.- _- Y; b3 U& D5 c f
, Z! d( m8 r7 e. o% wIn fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.' s I3 o! d$ u8 d! A2 d! f
1 O- x4 h: L# y( V9 v
"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.
" A) `& `9 b! w: Q% k# H8 G/ M& b8 p) y' M' M
"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."0 w$ d& H6 e. q! W" f; ^6 J
: V. \3 L, O) J0 ?0 K6 HThe recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said." [0 z3 ]- |( H6 f& Y
8 {* ]8 e5 y- I# g5 o6 {: B; g
"We're still very busy in the oilsands."
6 N% R3 k' y2 K3 h- t/ }/ i; T- D4 O3 [
Hunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.; V: V7 I) N1 b7 F
: D0 ~5 W- O7 D6 [) K! |They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.1 a3 H. }- g) F i- b( |7 R" ~
$ y: Z1 V: j- h( C7 P
The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.
; C9 z V: Z; ]- b; ]4 p3 `
" L4 ?, h# R, U4 `. oMike 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.( A# j3 P2 b; ]' e+ D# I U
8 v. e9 g' Q2 ~3 }; ^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.6 A- Z M3 s5 S" F' K- E7 [
. Z) c; {* I) e* v+ |+ N
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 $1.33 billion a year before. u/ p, n' @ B& e
' E* {/ X7 d* b" U& R% F0 B$ ZIts 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. |
|