 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。
/ H5 A o2 o$ e' E& w6 i$ b, j' V/ I0 b& p0 z
Finning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.0 X8 A8 p6 E/ F& M: i4 M8 x K
$ _% C1 H, n7 g, A6 REvery office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday.: R! n1 K' J |9 W2 Y/ A) J
7 q" @! p; {& `$ ~Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office., V7 z" G9 }6 ?9 J. J
; l! f% J7 B$ |# M" 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.) o+ @% Y- p: t2 R
4 D3 s: i5 w! a+ y# CIt brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.
* b1 C7 p) X) `5 Q1 J9 H6 l* c/ E2 z$ s% M
No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.
x [4 G, i- f% ^+ @
/ @' ?% \8 C8 qIn fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.
( o% N. i& j+ O$ ?
4 g. t7 d, `( C"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.9 q9 N9 G) w( [/ n/ o+ n
8 l" u# b* F4 B) A" Y/ b
"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."9 L& ]5 [: ~5 a% E/ P7 t
) k/ n# {/ w) f4 a% ~& [3 m! E9 eThe recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.. m- q1 {5 j" F9 h2 |- Z
; U% Q& r0 s7 R) j7 n# i# N"We're still very busy in the oilsands.") ~# T$ X8 y. Z, y4 N/ {& A
2 o3 M) }- f9 e+ J
Hunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.
# V/ t8 P- L/ A: X& G) {) H. u) F0 {- E& R6 G
They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.: X0 e6 r7 Y- @
, M% `, I @! @& T
The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.
* b' u) ~9 n9 b! E1 H K% [- C" c, X' K, u; W1 e& N2 e& 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.
, Q4 L. W$ U4 @& B9 e* t2 A
v, e- a% V/ O* i- A$ jDemand 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.
/ Q: H8 `4 | x9 }! u% W
; M/ \- E6 x+ o# c1 M& H \ {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.
' K, x. h h* } P0 ?! F/ a& g. p9 @+ T4 B# _3 w
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. |
|