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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。
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* N% `! {8 a; a( N! G$ g% DFinning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.
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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.3 m }" Z7 {1 ^; `7 Z4 A
# v' l4 `3 z( Q) F7 o" z/ BTwenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.6 w4 `4 X( b F5 i) Q6 e
8 S* x1 {0 \, X' U) }"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.
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It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.& H" Q$ W" u( ?0 q; k c" g5 \9 G
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No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.1 D+ \3 L0 M/ w' l
- w3 k) N" g& C9 JIn fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said. b9 P/ u# X+ s2 \. ]6 s
/ {* Z6 ^/ [6 o: W) M: l"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./ a9 U' O* O q3 y5 R9 B
1 ~; J7 P) N/ |8 P8 O1 d& v"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."
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, e. a O- z! C* d6 q+ R% q1 w: uThe recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.+ i6 \6 P/ H) \- n5 c
* e" [$ v2 Y$ T$ ~4 r0 R% @"We're still very busy in the oilsands."- g7 X) P' R; Q. {" c1 W
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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.. u4 ]0 r- v! M
8 a4 Y- F4 ^ P9 g8 w8 H( X! @The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.* k- M' X3 E3 f0 L
, B; f) k4 c. @/ }+ B9 ]% `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.; }/ J/ I# I' q" W, H) j
; U; J+ Q: K, A/ w1 RDemand 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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. E3 z6 L# i: W3 ~ e' }# c+ j" [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 $1.33 billion a year before.8 M& N/ \" o, W0 j, l# V$ S% A* m
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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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