 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。3 H, \2 t1 n/ {2 {8 C3 K
. C4 T2 B2 i' q$ s: ?Finning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.% h# u+ V7 M, s4 f, ^, {
% X$ [; M3 X1 J c# n; b
Every office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday.. X ^% J9 G7 @( P( s: g
1 l0 v& S& q& T3 z4 D
Twenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.1 O! W# q( _! }0 c/ a
# a1 [! l L* r* [. g
"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.* e% s% _" W* u% g
! b: h l% n: y2 @4 I" z! _1 v! p: r
It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.: M6 A- V% t# k+ W8 O7 w L( T; j
0 b' H4 _# a2 Z$ y8 `
No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.
& V6 {. p2 u+ v- a( I+ E2 a W+ b. Q$ K4 E; G
In fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.4 J0 `, _+ u% Z, d/ ^; S
+ n5 c8 D2 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.
' Y1 r: \/ R# J. K. [: @3 w& h2 A. J7 e1 ~. R$ E7 b& |* [5 \
"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."
: I; o- _6 v) ?$ G: V( r! ^1 h+ w) |
The recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.
& n: h& W6 ~$ l7 M! l6 g& P& \. c4 F5 m# l, D2 _. P% }
"We're still very busy in the oilsands."
+ {2 f( M' c* b* u" j+ I4 q3 G& S) k* {( U+ g4 n$ ^
Hunt said Finning has been immune to recent downturns, but is now being affected by slowing sales in some areas.0 @& f9 F* N4 Y7 E
* h0 h8 |3 v: Z; ]* pThey will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.
- ^" q8 r! Q0 b u/ R, E
9 |! o# t0 z: ^$ q+ ^4 lThe employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.5 d3 s, A6 q9 P5 U& \ i. T/ A3 A
( M4 e+ Z% {1 a9 N/ y1 vMike 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# D1 U" i. Y/ S7 C& J0 K7 a( e# e( C
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.
6 ^ x* }. p5 Y) P' O( G8 q% [/ V% m" V5 l6 c" x5 f& r9 `. w" z7 U
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.
( |8 v2 n4 y2 o% Z8 N
& T ^1 W3 c3 p! mIts 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. |
|