900 Workers Accept Buyout Offers From Duke Energy

Almost 900 employees of Duke Energy Corp. has accepted voluntary buyout offers, the company announced Wednesday. Duke Energy made the offers in an attempt to save $200 million in operating costs this year.

According to the Charlotte Business Journal, about 8,700 non-union workers among Duke’s 18,700 employees were eligible for the buyouts. The result is approximately 10 percent of the eligible workers took buyouts, which equates to about 5 percent of Duke’s total work force.

The numbers from past buyout programs offered by Duke, including in 2006 when 1,500 positions were cut, indicate the company will save about $120 million with the pending buyouts, the Business Journal reports.

Other ways the company plans to save money is by cutting travel expenses and consolidating corporate offices.

Duke Energy is a Fortune 500 company based in Charlotte, N.C. It is one of the largest electric power companies in the United States as it supplies and delivers energy to approximately four million U.S. customers.