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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。8 H9 a: Z+ [' G+ T7 O
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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.' j; s& @' p- `' K0 N4 Q
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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.
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: \! i: J0 d# e4 M+ QTwenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.0 ^5 [& q% x. u. R; A
" e) R# I+ m, D& d) t 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.3 u& a* e0 B/ t/ U+ s
* O/ R2 H5 x9 _& ]0 kIt brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.% y/ X1 J: w. ?& L3 R5 F+ w2 G6 [
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No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.
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4 ^- x) y0 b) B! r5 z. S6 c5 [! HIn fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said." Z% ` C2 q$ ]+ k0 [
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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.8 _; @, N" W; `* M7 |* {) M
; Y: t4 w& q! G5 O4 j9 b* y1 I' C"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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7 Q+ Z, z! x6 J7 Y# y/ q- x; BThe recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.2 e' G8 e3 V0 v
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"We're still very busy in the oilsands."# E5 T* {5 E9 ]8 O! w) A8 y
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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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) x2 W7 J- F( a! y# r" @4 D& ]1 XThey will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added., E; @% W0 ?: A* `5 ^9 O
; ~2 ^# Z1 q. o) }% L2 D/ [The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.
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, T( W% W$ e; B6 e( o7 |. ?' KMike 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.0 T3 G7 K) g/ g0 w0 S9 W# A
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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.; Z- {+ ]; i2 N7 J; o! Z3 W
( j2 a. K" @% E& l" F }2 w+ cIts 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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