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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。" t b+ r; L7 f _* v2 V1 L* S
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Finning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.
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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.# e- p) x% F8 P' n
5 Q+ k/ d* z6 R8 R# E& s$ b) aTwenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.
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$ r: I: ~" F& B"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.
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: A# B& C0 j- ]7 ~6 N* gIt brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.$ M h; ~' c( k0 E/ s' g% S
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No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.
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; K# J/ y7 A( Q6 CIn fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.
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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./ T9 a% m1 Q4 V! g) L% v. ]) R7 [
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"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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* ~/ t8 ]4 U; a! v KThe recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.8 J% n8 F: w6 V$ U8 H
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"We're still very busy in the oilsands."
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! S% e2 j& I& rHunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas. B7 u4 v9 Q1 ~0 n/ _- y4 p
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They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.4 \2 D" S% K7 c3 X
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The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.
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; X5 g) W% u7 vMike 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.. N, m$ B2 m1 c. b
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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.
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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 $1.33 billion a year before.$ f& a! P3 q& @6 ]& T
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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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