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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。2 j& z: Z- b, `% _; w6 q$ r- _
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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.' O9 E |% F1 `
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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.
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! Q. _) k) z: e; m"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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0 t* S: ~1 }6 A! N# f0 n" P* B7 A9 QIt brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.1 S: ^# u1 M+ T; O7 j, h
2 V: I' V) Q/ k. F2 Y6 ]9 h, e# VNo hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.
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' q2 v, Q9 [- | }* @In fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.+ V( h0 h/ @* p; F4 G
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"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.5 @/ ?! \8 P6 x) C
9 X, n( R& Z7 [; P' Y0 I8 e"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."+ v; x4 m t" k. [
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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.". d3 L, M" o7 Z% i6 W/ k
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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.3 @1 g$ L7 v* V* X7 N
; Y4 F1 K: h) Z6 c9 aThe employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.0 t0 G* X9 m J7 Q6 q" ?4 R: P
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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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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.: M# L" |% C3 i2 w
' i2 Z, {7 b1 q2 F7 JFinning 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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; C, k1 `% c& a7 hIts 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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