Finning in Sparwood has announced that it will be closing its location there as a part of the shutdown of 11 facilities across Western Canada. This location, along with others is expected to close sometime mid-2016.

The closures are expected to result in the layoff of about 450 people, part of a round of layoffs that will have seen 1,100 Canadians lose their jobs across the country in 2015.

The heavy equipment dealer has felt the effects of falling coal and oil prices, and the closures form part of a strategy to weather that storm, reporting a drop of 27 per cent in sales of new equipment between its second and third quarters of 2015, along with a 10 per cent drop of revenue from the same time in 2014.

The closures and layoffs are part of a larger restructuring of Finning’s operations that, according to Finning International president and CEO, Scott Thompson, will position the company for stronger results over the long term.

“In line with significant steps already taken to adjust to the economic downturn, we took further decisive actions to reduce costs and implement sustainable operational improvements as market conditions weakened in the third quarter,” he said. “We also continued to restructure our Canadian branch network, effectively reducing our facility footprint by over 20% since the beginning of the year, to optimise the utilisation of our assets throughout the cycle.

“While these are difficult decisions, we believe we are taking the right path to adjust our business to market realities and ensure financial strength, while simultaneously positioning Finning to deliver customer service more effectively and efficiently over the long-term.”