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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。- a* ^# W; e! G6 h8 h' z7 x
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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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* v: W N2 d# T4 P8 cEvery 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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! J$ O0 z9 w% \% z; r* h" H6 dTwenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.2 G' B; h8 V4 \/ E" W/ u0 h: w
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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.$ J& [+ C; M+ W9 R; M: l
+ P) m* g: r5 B0 d( ]It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.& ~( ]# G# w- q3 B) n/ q# W4 |3 Q( ]
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No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.3 d9 v% O. {" I# x% o
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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."
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% i/ }; y- H' S* PThe 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."6 D# A7 F2 K5 i4 l8 l: e
* j j7 ~+ |; l. U ?7 ^Hunt 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.2 u* b8 b8 S% P$ S$ e
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The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.
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& T8 C: Y6 y: z: W3 \" u! oMike 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.
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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.; k% }* y: c2 q0 X4 B; t, H
" e- j! G% Q$ M9 b+ L. ^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.
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7 f) ^& D, E! r' n9 c, x3 y6 R( HIts 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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