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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。
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( v0 c3 R1 b/ v9 S0 f6 GFinning 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.$ R5 F2 M3 x# }; l$ l
! N3 L) A$ B, R6 {/ uTwenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.8 h0 _, @: P# `' a& c
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"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.
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7 P: A, g4 [3 i6 J0 ?) k5 R; ~' `No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.3 e8 K, @, C M1 c5 x
- ?! x/ P" V3 Z8 B( EIn fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.1 V$ `3 c# p, P, Y1 Q$ f+ K
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"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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/ X3 S+ F+ P, a, M"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."% ]* Q$ `) m2 q
. y9 F% `9 [1 d$ e! s7 `; mThe recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.
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"We're still very busy in the oilsands."
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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.
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- o; w2 f/ ]4 k* U- ZThe employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said.! j- Q t: u: l3 K, }" e: }% Z. f
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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.1 c! A9 @7 k4 i9 ~& \* T
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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.5 f. L: B( L9 [* U
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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 $1.33 billion a year before.: b* b! B$ U L/ S' j- z! x
" A" O1 d8 `" h& I, v$ n& K+ p$ qIts 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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