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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。4 [ c' G( I0 n/ f
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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.$ P9 c: b8 H* l$ E# B
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Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.
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1 n2 ^. k3 w# ]& K"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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+ V5 _. L6 u) r7 a/ v# iIt brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.! e; V* I* R" s
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No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.3 o* X6 @- ^% t( s
1 \, I. P T/ {9 c0 y, n4 zIn fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.
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: o6 B* J2 Q+ _! a ]0 M"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.6 J% M/ ^' i( M/ k
! ^8 M; ] \* r: M"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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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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# z2 W+ E( {, \+ h; d"We're still very busy in the oilsands."
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" ^6 ?- ^6 [$ p. P2 p" aHunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas./ V* ]0 n* a: H* h
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They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.$ I/ ^. s( X0 E6 |' F+ |) `7 S S
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The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.7 g$ H4 }9 ]! \$ b) Y/ F2 E
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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.& \$ S$ t! Z" u1 e5 \. w
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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.% k8 [. N5 g4 ]8 Y- u
* {7 Q. t! M( v- Q9 i; u) FIts 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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