Washington, 16 October (Argus) — GenOn is closing its headquarters in Houston and terminating 15 senior staff members as the merger with NRG Energy moves forward.
The job cuts will take place from 3-17 December and include the chief executive; chief financial officer; executive vice president and chief compliance officer; and senior vice president of plant operations, among others. Those positions are currently held by Edward Muller, J. William Holden, Michael Jines and James Garlick, respectively, according to GenOn's web site.
The affected employees are not represented by a union, according to a federally mandated letter written by GenOn's human resources department on 1 October. The company expects further staff reductions after 17 December.
NRG announced its intention to buy GenOn for $1.7bn in July. The combined company will keep the NRG name and have a generation fleet of about 47,000MW throughout the country.
“Once the merger closes, we will phase out GenOn's headquarters and move people to different locations,” NRG told Argus. The company has an office in Houston, where it will transfer some former GenOn employees. Others will be sent to NRG's headquarters in New Jersey.
A total of about 500 positions across both companies will be lost as a result of the merger, NRG said. The company expects the deal to close by the first quarter of 2013.
“The transaction will allow the combined company to lower costs, operate more efficiently, and have a greater presence in the PJM market and California,” Steve Corneli, NRG Energy's senior vice president for sustainability, policy and strategy, told Argus in August. “It will also establish a better platform for retail expansion—particularly in the northeast—and for additional growth through new businesses that we have been working on for the last several years.”
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