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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。: b' z, U* W" u
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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.+ S% k+ H2 @, s8 _4 h) _5 L
4 V' d* \$ E1 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.$ g+ r" N, P0 s, e/ E
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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.1 C. m+ x! O* H% W: `. j. c1 w
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It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.
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" y' o. I* U m4 I& pNo hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.6 ?, K3 A# a! [9 K5 r0 k" [
n7 G9 ^5 @9 G9 ?$ _/ ZIn fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.
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, [/ z: F, v. l5 v1 _) `3 O" n& S2 n"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."7 ]5 x0 W, \5 c7 x7 w: N
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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.
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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.5 G& b7 W/ k5 X& _6 K% H
& L7 o6 V* W/ M9 TThey 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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% V! R' ]+ Y" H+ LMike 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.# o/ ]* _" Y6 W3 u2 J
( t: ^4 V/ q" G _7 n' BDemand 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.% m. C& I \5 L5 t5 a, q
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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.0 ~! Y, k8 {( p: B* t# s
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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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