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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。1 j$ \5 C4 f9 R2 D
; Y/ I2 E) u J$ E+ l+ U9 {! \9 N1 @Finning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.+ g% A z, P" F$ y) `( m6 w t$ e
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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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" X3 u8 @+ Q7 `: R& QTwenty-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.# v& y% [" Z& f+ H- O1 y2 v
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It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.
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0 n$ F" a" d3 _: ?No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.1 f/ Y% ~1 k% o, B5 O+ D
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In 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." b, h( e; s* n
a1 ]4 @/ C( u! E1 ?) L"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."! R9 r( g% p5 ~! ^3 q
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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.
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"We're still very busy in the oilsands."' O. Y3 t: o c/ N
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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.1 J6 a. K$ Q3 _1 T4 ?
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The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.; F1 x6 G ^: E: i! i# P7 o9 W
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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.) |, {4 h! u* _3 H i' K, b
" w$ T6 c. g8 p, dDemand 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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% u$ T4 C; m" {' L% t, |0 r( \# OFinning 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 $1.33 billion a year before.) w ~$ }3 l( G
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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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