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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。
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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.; R* {3 D! g% \1 _, i; C
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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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7 _* M9 y1 k5 O& W1 i) g X3 sTwenty-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.
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It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300., W& {* k4 Z) g- O. p
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No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.
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5 v" u: K' f+ S Z8 cIn fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.
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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.
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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."2 d* p1 Q/ v7 l/ V) I
4 e& v2 r% m/ Z: b6 yThe recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.$ S+ q. S9 ~& ]2 h; M: \
$ D# ]* k- _) @ c. p) e"We're still very busy in the oilsands."
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! A4 T5 \1 h& y( w+ v* o, U qHunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.& e. S+ D# ^( ]# O
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They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.
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The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.9 v9 X4 w. [! A" r9 q7 @' J
1 ]. N2 ]% \7 V' T: b0 kMike 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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) \, g' F) \# c& z* ?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.
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/ H! j0 W8 P3 s# `& DFinning 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.3 i* y3 X4 V+ ]
/ S* Y, p5 W, h# L8 {6 \ JIts 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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