The effects of deregulation are still being felt by AGLResources, the parent of the now-totally unbundled Atlanta GasLight, as 151 employees, or 7% of the workforce, has been cut sinceAugust, the company said recently. No more layoffs are expected,although the company did say it is always looking for ways toimprove efficiency.

The news comes on the heels of a poor earnings report released lastmonth, which the company also said was a result of the statewidederegulation (see Daily GPI,Sept. 23). Consolidated net income for AGL’s fiscal year 1999 was$74.4 million compared with $80.6 million a year ago, and basicearnings per share were $1.30/ share, compared with $1.41/share.

The earnings include a one-time gain of $22.3 million ($0.39/share)from the sale of its interests in two energy marketing joint ventures,including a disappointing partnership with Sonat (see Daily GPI, May 11). Excluding this addition, AGL’s netincome for the year is 35% less than its performance in 1998.

The personnel cuts were the result of a company-wide reviewlaunched as a result of deregulation and a pipeline modernizationprogram, said Millicent Hunter, an AGL spokeswoman. In addition tothe layoffs, three of the 36 total company call centers have beenclosed.

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