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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。
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3 J8 {6 c/ ~& VFinning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.5 E' T5 k6 ~- \
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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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Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.1 d# u: X6 W9 N) k" ]* U0 q
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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.
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It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.
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No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.6 G. n4 A7 o. [/ J8 O
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In fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.
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% X* i4 \6 e' k" ?; ?2 H: g c, \"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."
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6 p" ~, A! X( Q5 zThe 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."4 E1 V+ N: y8 y
& G) D3 {/ L4 F4 P) K: ~5 dHunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.) L- ?$ D( h1 k( O: Q
# J. S5 m+ G" o0 SThey will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.- f2 b0 i6 t4 O, f
6 f/ S/ ?7 B. v1 T. J" r0 e! PThe employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.- S% Z5 X7 c" `! M2 y. D: G
8 g' _; y8 E3 E5 \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.7 \0 F& m# g' z3 V1 P
* C3 K: B, t: E) }. v8 a, |- XDemand 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.
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, E: ~2 D) Y' m# P8 E5 s/ nFinning 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.2 `; t' k# p/ }5 \( n& U/ @6 \
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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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