 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。
! y/ Y# L! T: V2 k: `/ `; Z) `9 l( k* J j( b' l% X( c( ~
Finning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.( P& @& D0 N" B3 G; G
! h: R: z2 k& v& C8 N8 N
Every office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday.
' b3 A9 ^1 ?; w" b y: A2 ?' z/ h; T! c( u0 F0 T
Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.
q/ y+ X* n# h m, v! e; q) O w1 U' m$ H0 z2 q
"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.
6 t" u, e+ B2 D5 d( f1 R$ u7 z* I; `! G. U
It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.9 ^7 q5 t! J! x- [* ]6 N! d& p1 {
2 o* O6 |* X. W9 _No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.
- K" |( }9 c( y7 D, l
. f* n, T3 L( s0 z% {In fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.
4 v$ }2 K/ \4 v! a/ \- u' z6 C
$ G8 E( R$ [: M( F' D# ["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.
* I: ` Y9 s& ^9 Q* Z6 Q/ X! O7 [! Z u5 w
"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."; S f( \8 n& E* ~0 F/ i
: `. [! X: }" Y5 ^The recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.
9 F0 [; U, N, A& l- m; {2 G( [6 {) R2 ?0 W% V
"We're still very busy in the oilsands."
. f0 M3 J& w" f9 m) q; Z h6 k0 @ m1 B
Hunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.9 f- K+ m% K) Q) }! Q; A8 p
1 w* L$ ]( _7 E1 i6 V* `They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.
f% e6 L3 a$ g
$ G q) @+ t$ z/ X6 V# `The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.( E! ?7 H- K6 I0 V/ P( j
+ x" X }9 P% Q. s/ l. I
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.1 n) A. L. ^7 I. f q% t
3 \% t% T% s; W& A& LDemand 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.
8 `" e& y( d! m# O: Q
2 K7 v- z3 o, l9 WFinning 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.
1 {. L# C1 A6 |7 p6 {+ s+ C; k
1 y/ B/ N2 O' I; ~5 F' I9 D4 ~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. |
|