The database or portions of data which are copyrighted by the Los Angeles Times may not be reproduced, stored in machine-readable form or transmitted by any means. In no event may there be any downloading to retrieval systems of business or governmental entities for subsequent search and retrieval uses. The TECO subsidiary plans to slice employment by about one-fourth to get out of appliance installation and repair. The nearly 25 percent reduction from Peoples' 1,000 employees is designed to focus the company on gas distribution. The targeted jobs are in appliance installation and repairs departments in the various markets served by Peoples, including the Tampa Bay area.
Peoples is the state's largest distributor of natural gas.
Cuts will be made through dismissals, voluntary separation and an early retirement program for qualified employees. No one area of the state will be hit hard. He said appliance installation and repair will be farmed out to other companies so Peoples can concentrate on expanding its gas distribution system in Florida. The cuts will not spill over into TECO's other subsidiaries, he said. 2 Searchable in the Basic Index and in the Additional Indexes.