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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。& J3 Y7 [$ E; ?6 q
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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.
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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.
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- i! H' k4 u1 QTwenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.
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^# m+ P" ~, W1 d"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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( L2 R E! q1 P2 V6 ]0 eIt brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.) D( ^/ l, W8 E' T+ ?8 ?
- r# P: W0 a& TNo 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.7 s7 W& A8 q N m
& g0 @" K: \' s"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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! R6 g2 _! {/ y"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."6 j6 A2 O: J' y$ m
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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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1 ~9 Z, D4 Z1 N% E6 a9 v; b"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.9 }4 `1 |& H- v9 E
5 v6 n. G+ n3 W6 U o" f/ eThey will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.3 u$ Z" r* }6 B; y# f, u
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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.9 Y; c0 e) G/ z# U! ?* v
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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.9 r* t$ ]3 Y. q% q1 d2 m3 a K
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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 $1.33 billion a year before.3 Z$ t( P1 w9 i, E& [$ v% E% m
& K' [1 d1 l+ _2 N7 r$ ZIts 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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