Duke Energy Corp., which employs close to 500 energy traders and support staff, is expected to follow the route of its fellow energy merchants and cut its trade staff, citing less business. Also as expected, UBS Warburg will cut about 20% of its 600-member trading staff, and may lay off even more employees in the near future.

Charlotte, NC-based Duke has a large trading floor in Houston, as do all of the other energy merchants, but the company did not detail how many people could lose their jobs, nor could it reveal the locations. A spokesman said that the company wants the workforce to “fit” the business.

UBS Warburg took over Enron Corp.’s trading arm in February, and rumors began more than two weeks ago that up to 50% of its trading desk could be laid off, but management said then that it wanted to complete its budget forecasts before revealing any details (see Daily GPI, Aug. 12). Overall, UBS Warburg Energy employs close to 630, with 85% based in Houston. UBS has so far not detailed how well its energy trading arm has performed since it began operations.

With the job cuts at Duke and UBS, the energy trading profession continues to shrink across the country. Aquila Inc., CMS Energy Corp., Dynegy Inc., El Paso Corp., IDACORP Inc. and Williams Cos. began cutting staff in June (see Daily GPI, June 27; Power Market Today, June 24). Most of the job cuts will be felt in Houston, where all of the energy merchants have their largest trading desks.

At their height just over a year ago, the domestic natural gas and electricity trading arms of energy companies across the United States employed between 12,000 and 15,000 in front-, middle- and back-offices; nearly 4,000-5,000 sales and marketing professionals; 6,000-7,000 accountants and analysts; and 2,000 to 3,000 specialists, focusing on transportation and certain contracts, according to veteran energy analyst Ben Schlesinger (see Daily GPI, June 13).

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