FirstEnergy Corp. plans to lay off approximately 350 employees across five states, including Ohio.
Thursday’s announcement signals more bad economic news for Ohioans as retailers and other employers close stores and eliminate jobs.
In fact, 20 mass layoffs and 2,965 job losses have been reported in Ohio so far in 2025, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices filed to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
FirstEnergy, based in Akron, said the layoffs are part of a company restructuring to streamline operations. Officials say the layoffs affect less than 3% of FirstEnergy’s workforce.
In 2015, JobsOhio gave FirstEnergy Corp. a nearly $12 million loan that was forgiven in 2017, after the company used the money to clean up a coal-fired power plant.
The company also came under fire for a bribery scandal to influence energy policy in the state. The scandal involved a ranking politician and the state’s top utility regulator.
The 2019 energy law known as House Bill 6 contained big incentives to FirstEnergy, including $975 million between 2021 and 2027 in subsidies to two nuclear plants owned at the time by a company subsidiary. The law also enacted a “decoupling” mechanism that forced ratepayers to guarantee in perpetuity certain company revenues at 2018 levels, worth $102 million in 2021 alone.
FirstEnergy admitted to paying $60 million to "Generation Now," a group controlled by former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, allegedly in exchange for legislation favorable to the company, Ohio Capital Journal reported in 2022.
According to spokesperson Jennifer Young, the company is eliminating some roles while expanding others to improve efficiency and customer service.
"There will be minimal impact to our front line or bargaining unit employees," Young told WKYC 3News. "We remain committed to ensuring safe, reliable power for our customers, and we do not expect the organizational changes to impact our ability to maintain the electric system."
FirstEnergy’s electric distribution companies form one of the nation’s largest investor-owned electric systems, serving more than 6 million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York, according to FirstEnergy’s website.
The company operates as Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company and Toledo Edison in Ohio, with most electrical customers in the northern, central and northeast part of the state. Officials did not disclose specific locations or departments affected by the job cuts.
According to ABC 6 News, some of the largest layoffs reported by WARN include:
· Harvest Sherwood Food Distributors announced layoffs of 237 workers on February 19.
· Air Wisconsin in Dayton announced layoffs of 201 workers on January 30.
· Tarkett USA Inc. in Middlefield announced layoffs of 507 workers on January 24.
· Charter Communications announced layoffs of 259 workers on January 22.
· INOAC Exterior Systems, LLC in Fremont announced layoffs of 357 workers on February 28.
Ohio’s (WARN) Act is a law that requires businesses to provide at least 60 days’ written notice before a plant closing or mass layoff, ensuring employees have time to prepare for transitions.
In addition, Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc. plans to idle some operations in Michigan and Minnesota this summer, resulting in more than 1,200 layoffs.
This week, the Cleveland-based steel manufacturer confirmed layoff notices to 600 employees in metro Detroit, MLive.com reports. It’s also temporarily laying off 630 workers at two of its mines in Minnesota beginning in May, Cleveland.com reports.
The company will press pause in July on its Dearborn blast furnace, steel shop and continuous casting mill facilities, Bloomberg News reported, citing weak automotive production in the U.S. According to a company spokesperson, the shutdown is temporary while Cleveland-Cliffs awaits President Trump’s trade policies to be fully implemented.
Cleveland Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves, joined by U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, praised the tariffs at a March 7 press conference.
“These temporary idles are necessary to re-balance working capital needs and consume excess pellet inventory produced in 2024 … We remain committed to supporting our employees and communities while monitoring market conditions,” a spokesperson for Cleveland-Cliffs said in a statement to Cleveland.com.
In the retail sector, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Big Lots and Joann’s have either shuttered stores or closed completely in the first quarter.
Joann’s, a national fabric and craft retailer, is closing all 800 stores by the end of May. The news has hit Ohio hard, affecting over 1,000 Ohio employees, including 661 at its Hudson headquarters, 359 at the Hudson distribution center, and 116 at the West Jefferson Omni Fulfillment Center, 10 WBNS News reported in February.
In a statement, the company said its faced "significant and lasting challenges in the retail environment.”
Kohl’s announced in January that it would close 27 underperforming stores by April, FOX 8 News reports. The affected stores are scattered across 15 states, including Ohio’s Blue Ash and Forest Park (Cincinnati) locations. Saturday, March 29, is the final day of business for those stores, according to banners on their webpages.
Similarly, Macy’s closed two stores in Ohio as part of a larger plan to close 66 stores nationwide, including the locations at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek and Franklin Park in Toledo, NBC 4 News reports. Over the next three years, a total of 150 underperforming stores will shut down.
