 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。; J! \ g9 t4 C& u
+ I, d4 Y. N, `. v. |
Finning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.
( A$ q o8 R# a4 H. R# N' I- |1 y
% M/ ]; c! j% {2 B4 ZEvery office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday.
) }6 ^( \; ~8 G4 g/ p; M/ D/ w; _. A! s1 Z8 R
Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.
7 X2 B* I$ c- E) W( B! I% c" p& l6 h; T' E7 d$ h
"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.
4 ^6 A0 |& ~/ E/ t7 f; l/ j9 ]1 W) A0 {9 [. T
It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300. W( g8 M; n# P _; D, Y6 O1 W$ m
2 g% [$ ~0 `5 h. tNo hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.9 O& u% l6 T& ?. |7 }; M
, N( J6 w( {* u2 k' ZIn fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.9 E6 a1 [% |9 E. z$ z$ O/ F, p
6 O- B# F0 K: G: p3 a- n
"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.
' ^% b8 U9 X6 ^0 ?4 P) R# V/ o# |9 j' ]
"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."
. a1 ?; t2 l. s+ G- C) ^* c8 O5 \; G9 c2 b6 ?, e
The recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.6 E) ~. u. V; z! a3 a! e
0 H' x1 Y; t! f3 B0 c5 O
"We're still very busy in the oilsands."
% [9 n+ A3 c( M* p9 k s: w/ N0 w
Hunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.
' Z0 _8 o+ J! z9 W" ?% t. n1 S" \4 ^( _4 L+ }5 ~
They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.* ?/ J/ Z. s1 \* W5 B! L
- U0 J. a2 i; v2 qThe employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.% i* D0 L; ]$ b8 Q& l: P5 E
! z, U" m/ t; {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.
: y1 _+ X% s# J3 n" d( u% g2 O1 ?! ?" ?4 }* 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.
8 h Y E. A/ g8 V' L% C% |3 N+ m. A
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.
: j+ Q5 G) J4 n1 J4 A7 N0 u3 ^
- Z, C2 F2 [1 c/ yIts 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. |
|