Progress Energy may trim jobs in Florida
TAMPA BAY, FLORIDA - Progress Energy Florida, one of Tampa Bay's largest employers, is considering a "reduction in our work force," according to a memo to employees from Michael Lewis, second in command at the company.
The utility has been struggling with slowed customer growth due to the stalled housing market. The company will release more information later this summer and plans to release second-quarter results Aug. 7.
The work force reductions are limited to the Florida utility and do not impact the company's operations in North and South Carolina, at least not yet, said Mike Hughes, a Progress Energy spokesman in North Carolina.
"We've seen a slowdown in the Carolinas, but not to the extent we've seen in Florida," Hughes said.
The St. Petersburg utility employs 4,300 workers in Florida.
No information was released on the number of workers likely to be affected.
Related News

Clean, affordable electricity should be an issue in the Ontario election
TORONTO - Ontario electricity demand is forecast to soon outstrip supply, a problem that needs attention in the upcoming provincial election.
Forecasters say Ontario will need to double its power supply by 2050 as industries ramp up demand for low-emission power and consumers switch to electric vehicles and space heating. But while the Ford government has made a flurry of recent energy announcements, including a hydrogen project at Niagara Falls and an interprovincial agreement on small nuclear reactors, it has not laid out how it intends to bulk up the province’s power supply.
“Ontario is entering a period of widening electricity shortfalls,”…