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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。+ ~6 E# u0 `$ Z% u5 q& [# |5 {3 P- g
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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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2 S$ [! ?; L9 I4 P. QEvery office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday.) t2 ]- H1 V0 z
( H( P+ `# h4 w0 c7 n1 C9 `8 k. WTwenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.& o9 n8 N! z( r0 O
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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.: ^$ \% u. d% W8 Q0 D! g+ |2 W
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It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.
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, z) D0 D: e% T3 y d9 {No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.
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In 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.
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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.") t& n) v4 U3 k& \" z4 k7 ]/ ^
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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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' }1 L& a# j( ~: K: M% z% P"We're still very busy in the oilsands."$ R2 D) N/ _( Q' E0 q6 g
( I7 _- d- e5 Q4 B6 K7 OHunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.
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They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.3 A; t5 E" }8 G! k/ N" v; z5 D
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The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.4 ]+ F( S# Y0 [6 a
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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.- o' `+ y* |9 r
4 X( F7 h& D1 T1 {/ \# uDemand 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.# X/ Y/ u* v/ Z. [. x* |& }0 Q1 N5 b2 j
( L5 k! I+ O9 j6 f r6 i, Z- K! UFinning 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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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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