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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。7 R* `8 B$ i( G* `4 q r( X4 b
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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." \" A- u- J- u2 G& O
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Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.
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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." E: w$ E N4 { w) L
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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.
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In fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.- R7 H9 a& l1 J: b0 W5 B
0 G2 Q7 y( R; m7 ?& a9 Q"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.. y$ F! k1 j- f k! V% p
6 S% {9 s# t, }" [& s* T"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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- W! n- Y( X! C! G5 NThe recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.$ k9 S: i; R; t; _# Z& p7 W
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"We're still very busy in the oilsands."- P) e1 ^5 C( H* B
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Hunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.! f0 U1 ^6 |4 e$ ]2 r8 X
3 F9 ~- A2 p: b- G( cThey will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added." x/ N# k4 b: G6 t7 p8 N9 H; T
, |! {% X; r# Y* K; E2 a6 S2 gThe employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.# J- S& H; q% S
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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.5 y7 x( r! a# \: c# F
3 ^4 _8 \7 r2 H( [# LDemand 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.& U6 Q2 X+ r& ~3 n- _. ~0 B7 X
& s/ H) l8 O+ z9 sFinning 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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