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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。, R$ q, D. A2 x U3 Y* P0 a
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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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) t4 R$ v. x3 i& n9 m8 FEvery office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday.- A( S1 v8 R/ ~% L
6 r I5 ~ I* Y# VTwenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.
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% T3 l7 y- Q' x5 s* Z"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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$ j! ?$ [: }( a% I4 oIt brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.
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7 D5 P: ?# [ }! SNo hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.
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/ r$ ?% K0 t& U8 `' {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.6 _- B( Z& f+ g9 j6 q
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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."8 w9 Z; i. u- F
4 g% ?* I9 o* R: S* `7 RThe 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."
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( r# i# j3 z6 T, u2 X$ M* cHunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.6 i) _- l9 T) m) P+ Q
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They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.
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2 I4 \1 c7 D% D8 p- YThe employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.) f' v. H9 J7 v G
: w6 |+ [* \, NMike 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.% s! J- b2 {* m0 J9 W4 Y8 x
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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.5 Y% B" c' _9 {
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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.1 C* Q% P" O- T3 s6 o- P& o
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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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