Job loss now tops 2,000 in Duke-Progress merger

About 2,000 jobs will be lost in Progress Energy's merger with Duke Energy, the companies revealed Friday, doubling the previous estimate.

It was unclear where all the jobs cuts would come but Progress executives have previously said they would eliminate up to a 1,000 jobs in downtown Raleigh.

Job losses in a dismal economy will be a focal point of merger hearings next week in Raleigh before the N.C. Utilities Commission. The companies will rest much of their case on expected savings to customers, including cuts of duplicate jobs.

While the two companies' territories stretch across six states, from Indiana to Florida, most of the cuts will be where job duties overlap in their home state of North Carolina. Progress currently employs about 2,000 people in downtown Raleigh and Duke has about 7,600 employees in the Charlotte area.

The 2,000 jobs is higher than the estimate done by the Public Staff, the state's consumer advocate in utility matters before the commission It had estimated a reduction of 5 percent, or 1,470 of the 29,400-worker force, based on the experience of previous utility mergers.

The upcoming reductions will be phased in over about three years, according to Progress. The 2,000-job estimate includes 300 to 400 vacant positions, and the companies say they will try to achieve the rest through voluntary departures.

"We're doing all we can to minimize the loss of jobs," said Progress spokesman Mike Hughes.

The companies will have a better fix of how many jobs will be cut, and where, next month, Hughes said. That's when a redesign of their corporate structure will be finished.

The companies also will announce which employees will be eligible for buyouts.

Some jobs won't be targeted, such as power plant, line and service workers, Hughes said.

A smaller workforce would be a substantial source of savings after the merger. The companies have estimated job cuts would account for 45 percent of operations savings, not counting money saved on fuel.

The utilities will pay hundreds of millions of dollars in severance to workers who are laid off and who take buyouts. The companies will try to recover those costs in future rate cases.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which has 5,200 members at Duke and Progress, objected to the settlement agreement because it doesn't guarantee how many jobs will be preserved.

Collective bargaining agreements typically don't preclude layoffs, but can influence their terms such as by whether senior workers are protected.

News & Observer staff writer John Murawski contributed to this report