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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。6 t2 T) q9 u: s$ b, @4 P
$ J, H$ _3 q; s |& K* f+ CFinning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.. k* ~. Y+ [' E- p) H- u
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Every office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday.; c! Q; {/ a0 C* Q1 r. i3 }! c- y
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Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.0 c& |. p% F1 @! L
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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.2 k/ _9 h& j) S& v2 A$ g" s
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It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.% O* p) e$ Z$ D
; e+ x8 d" U+ `$ U n" s! CNo hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.1 q3 \. ?9 k, k3 M5 p) m0 M
6 S. X0 M/ `2 z0 f7 k. SIn fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.* M6 F$ ?4 |9 c% y; s% U
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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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0 W' J6 l. y" n1 c"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."" D n% k/ a# [
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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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( j$ o& S7 l- W5 G$ u& r"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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. q% `& m" p0 A2 h4 f2 IThey will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.
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- `8 z3 k, v- xThe employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.
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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.
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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.9 j2 u# H$ J2 l0 m- A% A
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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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/ M2 S+ l8 D' N; C! M2 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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