 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。8 A7 T7 b! o) r# i; d; k
3 N" g" `2 S# l$ M. mFinning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.
8 d# G8 v1 K+ G) d6 b, q2 \! [6 k( y+ t" K0 f. F8 U) ~7 X3 C
Every office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday.
" o& a: n. R! f/ J" ?; F. W! G. E: ?5 y
Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.! W) D6 `" f6 Z$ C
; }+ j1 |1 ^6 i7 f"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.2 i2 Q! W1 X) D1 X
& ?' h& l' Q$ K1 JIt brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.& d* E4 {7 s% |$ A3 @! A7 J% P: _
* v- Z7 x2 M/ S+ I- Y( a' p* U7 JNo hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.
" R3 T4 z; K" D+ I: f) y( d6 x" \9 s: m" }# w
In fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.
9 U' r9 z$ s* D Z. S5 r" \ d
, o* ~8 K7 f- n- j8 r"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.5 U) J" f0 i0 K& e+ [
' e% d: b" L2 E9 X
"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."
$ A# @; w: G6 |7 v# J; O2 \
# `$ J" Y1 s; O$ O. f w$ B/ UThe recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.
. I, |" w" V3 l- F& B0 G4 {) y. e% K" P" P8 J% Z/ T
"We're still very busy in the oilsands.", y- x/ d4 R0 e" g- J* K
/ b0 d; M1 R* f; T" ~Hunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.% b) T0 B8 }: x+ y
: Z6 |6 b! @4 ]9 w# n3 m/ D3 R0 {They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.* j& Z2 ?) n! A9 l: i
! k" z) f. Q% k. b6 j# cThe employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.
1 m. K! }3 I1 G E: X* S8 i! Y( ^. a* ^+ C Q' V2 Z' o: O
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.
- ^2 X9 a1 m2 a. W7 O7 q
# d! g/ j) n/ W) i2 v' Z1 BDemand 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.& w+ p$ k8 [7 b% H# F
- Y( G: o- H: s+ b- [1 I. V
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 $1.33 billion a year before.
6 `. k1 E3 l* Z" @$ R8 X4 i1 R7 f% V, N% s/ k2 }2 g
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. |
|