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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。- X# `2 _& u% L9 x
7 S2 _1 r9 Y* V6 Y# w: p5 Z! X$ EFinning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.' S2 g6 K+ j2 T( w
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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.6 ^+ H8 S8 @5 S" R F3 J0 P1 m- e) g
5 s8 o/ d( Z) z }: xTwenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.1 m" m# f2 v4 m7 H
3 S. ~% b% n( e* ], |+ f& q"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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L: r3 b, o: o2 e9 X; c8 r. U/ DNo hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.: S; T: C8 o: B* `4 f
0 Y ~# @0 v( |3 T5 D2 Y3 yIn 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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8 p$ h8 l/ C) c7 [$ r"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."- l0 p Q3 g. I' p1 P. {
8 \1 v& K$ D/ T- P T6 q8 ]% U% RThe recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.6 F4 ]* u/ C8 M! {# a+ I! l) {
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"We're still very busy in the oilsands."
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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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4 S2 n0 y5 y- _& {0 N: }8 s7 eThey will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.
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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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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.) P& v4 c5 \: Y: _ C- m4 I$ K) @" u$ ~8 c
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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.
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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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