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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。8 ?( n1 c3 q2 _: [
5 z, t2 \% c8 J: n$ m! ~$ E1 ^0 W, ]Finning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.6 l8 i2 ~* T- v! H
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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.$ N! |0 x# N5 ~. n
9 I }& l/ i& J4 D" X1 t+ E6 xTwenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.
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. } f8 e) O7 V0 t: h3 e: O7 b"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.6 j* z; Q* N9 @) Y/ B' s3 Q' E
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It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.' s! ^$ a# _! H. ~9 w0 c) `
) t$ {6 q: g( z1 I* MNo hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.
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6 P; |2 Q( S! @6 Z, C2 x0 S2 a7 kIn fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.
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! E* M/ W3 z4 n( Z j! P; d"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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The recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said. ]6 Q# T4 j- a% Q. c
; Y2 }. l% d4 S6 i"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., ?; \+ y" p0 b5 y8 s# s
6 z9 x! P+ ~- X$ B- HThey will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added." U0 o: R' D1 z; S/ W& _. 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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3 b6 G- H$ t" P" @$ i% cMike 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.& D) ^4 D2 M' C$ L
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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.* z' p1 @ S" D, W$ r% K1 V) Z
" K& v; O, A1 m" i; DFinning 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.( e# P5 P4 x# v2 V! i
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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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