Alliant Energy plans to shed 200 jobs by July; Madison utility to keep trimming costs

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - Alliant Energy Corp. of Madison said that it expects to eliminate about 200 jobs by July as the utility continues to cut costs.

The job losses will come in corporate and "operations support positions," the company said. It's premature to say how many of the cuts would come in Wisconsin or in Iowa, the company's other main area of business, spokesman Scott Smith said.

Smith said the cuts will not be limited to management, and that union workers could be affected.

The company needs to make the cuts because of its decision to leave many of its non-regulated businesses in recent years, Smith said. Other changes to come this year are sales of the company's water utility, its Illinois electric and gas utility, and its share of two nuclear power plants.

"We have to align our business better with the work that needs to be done," Smith said.

In the wake of the divestitures, he added, "There isn't as much work to be done."

The company sees a need to be lean during a period of rising energy prices.

A recent state Public Service Commission analysis found that the prices charged by Wisconsin Power & Light Co., an Alliant subsidiary in Madison, were the third-highest of 17 utilities it compared in Wisconsin and nearby states. If the commission approves the company's pending request to raise prices 7.1%, the prices would rank second, the analysis found.

"As we continue to build to meet our customers' growing energy needs, customers have told us to do all we can to keep our costs low and our operations efficient," Bill Harvey, Alliant president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.

In the past two years, Alliant has cut 200 jobs by not filling positions after people left the company, Smith said.

Alliant said employees whose positions are eliminated will be offered a severance package, including cash payouts based on years of service and tuition reimbursement or outplacement assistance.

Wisconsin Power & amp; Light is an electric and natural gas utility serving southwestern Wisconsin and parts of central and eastern Wisconsin. Alliant's other main utility subsidiary is Interstate Power & Light Co. of Iowa.