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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。6 f9 P8 f* m1 r+ c. c. n
( V4 J5 g: ~; b4 X" EFinning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.2 E; }# q0 X7 [7 ]9 Q' g2 q
7 t, f5 z1 y. {! n9 y& m0 NEvery 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.+ k1 h+ y& s" s7 P
. [7 W' b* p& s; Y"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 h/ m/ c4 I9 d5 s4 g7 {9 q7 T
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It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.; B. I, [2 v( a# W
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No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.2 b1 t* y; A% g
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In fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.
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6 C5 V9 L5 \$ Q" E7 y7 g+ ]$ [- U; x"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.; v/ z- k" i$ F/ {6 v- `
( T, @( N. O2 e' n9 a- `4 h! v5 [1 f3 o"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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- u% |$ D1 C0 _The 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.
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# e/ }7 G5 }- ]% t0 iThey will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.. L! D6 V9 C5 m& w5 p
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The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said./ t* x6 b4 {: Q5 }/ H8 C! m
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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.$ w- J) ~7 U9 u/ J9 _7 g
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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.. P+ m7 Q7 q4 P$ E) [
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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 @9 p8 X8 ]& ]4 e, ?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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