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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。
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1 o ]+ ?) Q7 l4 U4 c* @Finning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.4 u0 x3 }- l% U5 x3 a- ?) {. 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.8 c' i, y/ i* [9 q" |* {
9 K7 X9 j. ?8 j$ o4 hTwenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.$ P" N6 a0 W' W. {; q- r, f$ \2 O
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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.7 t# Q) J- b) L5 M; o8 c+ v
: t% V0 |; ^+ d' c) u/ b4 F6 f& l& F5 NIt brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.! z, ^: U; L, q* A$ m7 S
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No 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.
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( R7 }6 s8 c: g' L8 J* p"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.$ R3 H: Z# a1 l1 u j2 A
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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."& i* O& |0 R# u) O, x9 f5 m# V6 S
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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.
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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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8 ]0 `3 i0 z$ ~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.' p8 S! f+ a+ z% b/ |
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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 $1.33 billion a year before.. D8 _% A7 p. z( W2 m5 a! J
/ Z$ C- v+ u1 d- C" K9 i# ]: WIts 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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