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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。# n3 i8 x+ [) Q4 T& ]- C5 H) B
) S7 U6 ]) z* ]" p& [Finning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.6 G) A% v; E9 {
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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.- x, f$ [. x6 M6 `. o) U
6 b/ j' k3 y9 w( W5 ~% r) n1 l$ {Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.- N, `8 _9 \! y( a8 t) ^
3 t& ~% v& C5 d"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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It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.
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No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.) z# Y( y4 g3 g8 b( o
8 u0 K+ s0 }3 i- ?+ \" R7 o+ XIn 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.$ j. ^) j+ e" t$ E" G
, N. c6 F y( @0 z- T0 L"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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5 F) R. h; v8 S1 w3 }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.". P# d; u/ P2 @% M
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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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A4 S4 J/ L, Z- GThey will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.9 ^4 V' A* P9 N9 f- q+ G1 |
3 g0 n- V e) Z7 s+ l6 dThe employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.+ [6 d* [, E: F/ D, C" K0 R
- n$ O$ D( B/ b( ]/ L% h) H4 iMike 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.( g9 U. |% e* [8 p* l( n i
! p. F9 L8 c9 ZDemand 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.' ^2 f: m" L) P& u1 Z2 u7 h
- t- M" N5 j% t7 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.5 g+ L9 m8 P( j* b, S- ]
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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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