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差不多占总员工的3.5个百分点。1 }1 r! N: l0 ^* u2 _
" ~1 a" M% M6 }2 k; OFinning Canada has laid off 160 salaried staff in Alberta and B.C. as sales of Caterpillar equipment slows in the economic downturn.0 i! K4 C9 p2 [$ V, a% C2 {
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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.0 e7 z( Z6 V7 E! z Z; h' j
, z0 u6 l% t: [/ i6 mTwenty-nine people lost their jobs in Edmonton, where Finning Canada has its head office.
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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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2 p' Z0 m m2 v. {0 d$ tIt brings Finning Canada's workforce down to about 4,300.
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No hourly workers - who service and rebuild construction and mining equipment - are affected.
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" [' Z+ V- L8 N/ {6 D! Y& nIn fact, the company is still hiring mechanics and technicians, Hunt said.
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2 y6 `$ Y F6 l6 {4 a$ h/ x"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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"It's our customers who are going to get us through this, and that's the last place we want to cut."- ?$ @$ x6 q3 ?3 x4 e! ]! H1 @
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The recent delays and cancellations of oilsands projects - a major income source for Finning - was not a factor in the layoffs, Hunt said.# c+ b, o4 L6 z8 c7 o/ a- ?
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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.2 s! v0 P/ ?9 g
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They will continue to monitor the situation, but "we can't say it's the end" of layoffs, he added.3 p# A# F# n p3 |1 S
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The employees, most of whom got the bad news Wednesday, will get severance packages and outplacement help, he said. A! c# z9 U$ M2 F0 n
( t- x r5 Q/ g; G* D; fMike 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.8 s& L0 t5 X4 N
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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.
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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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