 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。
& E+ E: Y/ H) y) [6 ?1 S, G2 [! Z, g" B$ T6 M
Finning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.7 c) E/ G; Q X6 M
0 l! h7 d& e9 i% }1 N
Every office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday.
. C1 h# S' L0 ~) w
; E/ M" A! A* Q. b1 p/ z2 MTwenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.
, C, M0 u) H- Z* N1 W3 c% U1 o% ]8 x# Q$ N+ v' f9 v( K8 U/ Q
"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.! R+ q) J. k/ ^ }2 c* T+ x
' N3 Z& n1 s: R; M A4 w, v2 r6 RIt brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.3 \ x$ ~( E2 G. L, a3 A
+ T- |, [! v6 F! {8 e& p3 y
No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.1 a+ w2 I4 W0 m; c0 z, x3 ^
7 w a: z& d0 X3 p( L8 O
In fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.& n! R! f9 R) a3 z0 V$ W5 r
9 x- v3 ~( M* f"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.
* M- N' ^7 O& L7 i+ ?. x( G) M+ A# ~6 W2 k3 Y- I
"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."# o, P; Z# E) X
6 C/ E) G7 |/ j0 c4 F) ?9 K- eThe recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.
. M* T& Q! c; [+ Y
5 T. S: w5 _2 G"We're still very busy in the oilsands."3 Z2 N0 E5 F& ]# r7 a0 x
, \3 f$ {0 x0 y# eHunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.% @9 L% ~! q1 Z/ ?/ t
5 i# Q: M6 d/ x$ V8 |/ ^' D
They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.
. m2 b1 D' I3 X! s7 `
5 p# a- C: r* {. N) SThe employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.
- ?+ D/ o1 b% C5 M+ ?' ^7 Q
~4 |+ t( j3 y0 t; TMike 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. g, C3 ^ {" @6 K
+ b4 A5 J7 e* c. H) E
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.
t( K- M- ?& T* U l, p- f7 z7 v. f4 _
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.9 Q) a9 {4 p* |) I
5 k8 Z8 G" }5 o- oIts 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. |
|