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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。* Z' f4 `# z6 Z$ {! e/ l8 o
: k' S V* {) D5 nFinning 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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x, o9 K7 O: R# h( B i# oEvery office and every staff level, from support staff to management, in both provinces were affected, human resources vice-president Miles Hunt said Thursday.7 r$ j( x$ e+ y" K% ]
& L. K9 e s% @& w9 A0 D: h" OTwenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.) ^4 K- R' v1 F
' B8 W; |! z: \7 K"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.6 b$ U+ C. D6 R' A, X7 a
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It brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.% c; L5 n1 d! ?" D, K6 w. K+ L
1 O4 j5 V- o6 R$ DNo hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.
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In fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.9 D; Y9 U$ c$ Y& y# U
! c& [: t1 V* O"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.
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7 s+ A, I" x# t% e" i4 ]( _! \# j"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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3 U: J- Y* S4 V4 y- F7 aThe recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.5 x6 ~# ]5 w* K8 O# D; T. X
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"We're still very busy in the oilsands."( Z" |: m& Z. ^: h, y8 t
* G( L C; {/ l+ U1 I5 HHunt 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.+ R" M. f+ G* w" }0 f8 g$ X3 I
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The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.
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. R0 V* B, L! a2 z3 d. c2 ^- M7 y8 oMike 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.' ?! _" g* Q' H
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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.
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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 $1.33 billion a year before.2 ^( }3 [$ Y/ t8 a* n# V
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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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