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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。0 t& S7 A# h- R( Z/ q5 ~$ b7 s
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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.
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* h" e7 Y8 Y+ C( l% s+ ^Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.; E2 T& n' E9 [ ?' [- ^. }& {; n
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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.
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No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.
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In fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.) L+ q3 ^5 n1 X% B4 s
; k7 m$ n% K* F" Z"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.: g4 c L6 G- z! |: C
( \) a1 Y/ I; C$ I9 K' W, \"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.' A+ y2 Z* s' _, z, a; Q8 D
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"We're still very busy in the oilsands."7 u1 L2 i, l# D" Q
, t" I! a& w) DHunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.& E8 a- h' o1 a6 A9 t1 z! b
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They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.# P3 x4 H( C B J- g
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The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.+ I1 T8 _5 D! M1 v( K8 r% \0 u3 T* F/ m
6 Y7 O4 T$ S7 Q8 {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.# h" W! I% v& q" \8 n; z/ P
6 m( L3 i6 ~1 O! V3 m" LDemand 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.- \. ]& y0 Q& N5 Y
: L. L& G- `) g! ^! _+ s+ MFinning 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.' O+ J: V" I2 a, P4 x! }; c
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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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