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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。
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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.$ {3 P+ f7 H0 F; v
: R/ D) X( B8 S4 TEvery office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday.( W. R* m8 L# T1 m& U0 }
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Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.$ u& g" {* l; N
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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.( {* W; Q4 l( _1 D) ?
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It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300./ t' y9 o5 E! o, t; K3 d
+ h6 I6 V% ], Z g" JNo hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.
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In fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.& ^5 S9 I" _3 m- E/ Q8 Z0 f
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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.1 `( R) [) e, ]5 T4 R( `
8 m# D: ^5 Q! L/ D$ s3 s7 @"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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1 W8 n& t: x1 h* N7 cThe 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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0 ~: S1 l8 o2 D( L"We're still very busy in the oilsands."
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5 {6 _$ n2 \' X! `. O2 K hHunt 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.
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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.
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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.0 }% g" b7 z/ N, m2 {
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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 $1.33 billion a year before.8 l- ^" s$ R) ], c. M! g) |
, |% {$ C' V3 iIts 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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