Hundreds of Consumers Energy employees raise hands for buyouts

Consumers Energy, the utility company that provides natural gas and electricity to some 6.6 million Michigan residents, has received interest from hundreds of corporate employees for a buyout program announced last month.

Consumers confirmed that about 4,900 employees were deemed eligible for the program and that up to 600 expressed interest. The number of employees who will depart the company under the program has not been finalized, CMS Energy and Consumers Energy spokesperson Katie Carey said, because the company still is determining who will be approved. She said the company does not have a specific number of positions it is targeting to eliminate.

"We are excited about the transformations we are making in how we do business and what this will mean for our company and our culture," Carey said. "As we evolve however, we recognize that our co-workers may have also changed and may be looking for something from their workplace and in their careers that no longer matches the Company’s plan for the future. We are offering a Voluntary Separation Program (VSP) which provides us an opportunity to reduce ongoing costs while also caring for our co-workers who wish to separate from the organization. We are still in the middle of the VSP process and cannot comment on specific numbers of people who will leave."

The program does not include employees who are union-represented, according to Carey, but applies to corporate workers in departments such as finance, human resources and marketing.

The 4,900 employees who were eligible for the program had until April 28 to express interest. Those who expressed interest and are approved for a buyout will have until June to determine if they're taking the offer.

Jackson-based Consumers has been operating under a hybrid work model since 2021, Carey said, but starting on Monday corporate employees will be required to work from the office three days per week.

CMS Energy, Consumers Energy's parent company, last month reported quarterly earnings for the first time since winter storms knocked out power for days across large parts of southern Michigan. CMS earned $345 million in the first quarter, up from $194 million a year ago. The company reported a decrease in operating income: $314 million compared to $456 million in 2022. 

Consumers is not the only company with a large workforce in Michigan to offer buyouts this year. Jeep maker Stellantis NV, for example, announced last month that it is asking some 33,500 hourly and salaried workers to consider voluntary buyouts, a move that is partly in response to the expensive shift to electric vehicles. And General Motors Co. recently said that 5,000 employees were taking buyouts.

MLive first reported news of the Consumers Energy buyouts being offered.

jgrzelewski@detroitnews.com