Electric utility owner FirstEnergy Corp., parent company of Greensburg’s West Penn Power Co., said Monday it has laid off about 75 employees in Pennsylvania.
The layoffs are part of a corporate-wide restructuring impacting 350 of its employees.
About 75 FirstEnergy workers throughout the state lost their jobs as the company eliminated roles, while other positions were expanded to ensure the company can operate efficiently, said Jennifer Young, a communications manager for FirstEnergy, which is headquartered in Akron, Ohio.
Young said she did not know how many of the 75 workers were employed by West Penn Power. FirstEnergy also operates Penn Power Co., Pennsylvania Electric Co. and Metropolitan Edison Co. in Pennsylvania. The number of FirstEnergy employees laid off in Pennsylvania amounted to about 2% of the company’s workforce in the state, with less than 3% of the company’s total workforce losing their jobs, Young said.
FirstEnergy officials last year adopted a new operating model led by a different leadership group, to focus on decision-making by those closer to customers, workers and regulators, Young said.
Travis Beck, president of Utility Workers Local 102, said that none of his members — service workers who install lines and restore power — were affected by FirstEnergy’s layoffs last week. Beck said his union represents about 1,000 FirstEnergy employees throughout West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Of that number, about 450 are in Pennsylvania.
“It’s part of an overall realignment,” Beck said.
