 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。( [' P, a" D2 Y2 G" k$ j
2 h" x ]6 U) N# ~Finning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.- d: j4 B/ |; R: }0 X7 |# J
8 ?1 a7 i# M# k- X+ E# L3 }$ D0 GEvery office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday.$ p/ a1 @4 U4 o2 x6 v
, l, v9 I) {6 m7 w3 E B/ r
Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office., B+ d7 E. y# P6 w. m4 i
0 l- ~/ j/ R. j6 t W
"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.' O! I* Z6 r! S) v* K0 N
, j/ l. K( ]& a* `3 l/ R
It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300./ V( d( {* m( ]: e! [' G
8 h) l9 e0 a5 P \# _+ u. |No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.
# z% k6 `; J9 h& P+ G! s% f4 v: ?0 S5 B, m: W9 l P
In fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.
4 m* `. }8 Z" O/ `4 e; b, |8 p4 f1 c* ]8 o. {( x. \( Z; w' S
"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.3 J- k- E: i- W+ L4 w
: R* m9 U/ _8 X) X) ]
"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."% I( L1 T5 R0 j0 u S+ P1 J6 t
" V) Z5 w9 I# oThe recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.9 M: ~9 P1 F* ^6 y8 h6 i# H
8 _/ m1 V, R! l"We're still very busy in the oilsands.": J. l3 F8 x. F
4 p% U; t6 X' }Hunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.. m1 X1 z* g3 u1 \6 g4 h# j# H
3 {7 A# D/ H% m" g
They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.7 C0 f! \+ j7 u3 @ r4 N6 K
" V, t2 b; }4 g' X6 @1 r# ~
The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.- l4 S3 e/ O, U7 L2 w
/ W. Y# \9 E6 @$ C" H1 mMike 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./ C. k( l# I$ f: A: K# Y
. R7 ?% W% Z, y! t& I: {' r9 v3 I ^
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.
$ _! v& n( X& R# O8 f% B8 j q; ^( i' ~0 r% S* J. H" Q
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 $1.33 billion a year before.
! \& [9 n; s+ I
' A$ s' ]) o$ rIts 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. |
|