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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。1 k1 s/ `3 B5 N* |/ H( f; A _
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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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7 d& q, G. a8 y) i& O1 TEvery 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., \+ Z) p, n! E) n- I+ u* Q
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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.( C4 g9 J7 h- Z7 w
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It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.: f5 a* g1 {, B' q6 |: C7 M
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No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.6 ^$ W, c' R7 K! f) M% E" s
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In fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.# b# E1 |/ x, @6 o
# P- M' S4 Q4 m! c; T5 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.
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! e/ c5 h W/ |5 u0 h7 G4 z, S0 j7 R"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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/ }+ c* }' ~# S& {; ~; ^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."6 J. ^3 P& L' F4 ~
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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.' k/ ~9 R% |) T2 R- D& f8 V- x) L
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The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.
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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." {+ Y' R! u& J( S" m I
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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.
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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.
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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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