 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。
5 _# w+ @1 N E. W% d2 f& z6 |
9 I' G+ b) F5 GFinning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.
: r% u/ J& M; F! f$ r2 u8 y1 @) q* M( `! o. U! D
Every office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday., K6 V0 e' ^+ Y; D5 [
9 d6 L8 E1 j5 e* y- t3 v# ]
Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.2 S9 w8 c v! t& h, C& T0 g0 s& V) t3 E
6 A8 y) P: w- S4 L"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.
) M3 p& @0 t2 z# X* ^
( [% a% Z4 I' t( s) nIt brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.) q2 o" v6 d& v
9 O9 Y' {* n4 \* `( W0 ?
No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.: m) h0 S8 I. R3 o/ d
& D# H$ D$ l( a9 c W
In fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.* F2 V9 b+ [8 E( C5 I
6 T K1 \1 v& W1 E
"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.+ x. }8 g i& H. |. G) R
- Y$ r$ t! J" x"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."6 l4 r J; `! M5 M
$ l2 v& U1 J! Z% L8 t" R
The recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.+ D M o. b0 a* ~" A
( q# y) l2 l3 j, T5 V"We're still very busy in the oilsands."- [9 k6 p' c: o; F, k& ]# q
* h/ K6 A r) j ^- q$ g* YHunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.# N4 V+ W' P4 A: |4 [: E: v
8 r' e7 k" u8 K/ d
They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added. a' n6 p8 [. k9 m
* r' f) ^% b" t
The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said." A* L" x$ K; f( D
3 O4 i2 Y5 `2 U0 y
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.0 n0 m+ W0 j7 p. }% P ~8 s
# h5 m$ s/ d. D: o) i3 `2 a2 ~
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.
4 Q4 N% ^5 t; x6 w0 C \5 A O6 x0 U( g$ W% ?
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.
' R7 Z4 @* P6 B! [1 D9 z: T* G
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. |
|