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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。" I) i% q. M! X( [8 |
/ o7 V- f& J. ?. i7 OFinning 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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0 K. ]3 M& w% f5 {7 ZEvery 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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Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.
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X* m/ [) L3 j1 u"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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Q- k) Q. {9 E$ P/ jNo hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.! \4 l- C/ C U! X* h, L! i1 P0 F
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In fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.
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{4 t) A" p9 \" X* k"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.- b: P* b2 K& r B- m6 q6 B+ p6 n! H1 P
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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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8 o; a( h, D( q- oThe 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." D" R' Q4 ^; p+ G
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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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2 I2 d& _3 [; N5 F8 l3 AThey will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.( p: G) g: L9 a& }9 ]
M' u: t2 A3 d( `5 iThe 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./ I7 k# }8 m8 l& a! A
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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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