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PacifiCorp merger will cost jobs ScottishPower analysis to determine cutbacks By DAVID PRESZLER With its merger with PacifiCorp complete, ScottishPower is launching a six-month analysis of the utility company that will likely eliminate jobs. Company officials said it's too early in the process to say how many of PacifiCorp's 8,000 employees -- 2,240 of whom work in Oregon -- would be laid off. "We do anticipate that there will be job reductions," said ScottishPower spokeswoman Rachel Sherrard. Sherrard said the company won't know the extent of the cuts until the end of the six-month process. "We genuinely do not know or have any sense of the numbers," she said. "Up until now, our focus has been solely on the completion of the merger." The $10.5 billion merger -- $6.5 billion for the company and $4 billion in assumed debt -- was completed Tuesday. It marks the first time a foreign company has purchased a U.S. utility. The deal, announced last December, creates one of the world's largest power suppliers, with 7 million customers and 23,500 employees. PacifiCorp serves 1.5 million customers in six Western states, including about 500,000 in Oregon. ScottishPower officials have said all along that they would cut expenses at PacifiCorp and are aiming for a reduction of $10 million a year. Sherrard said employee reductions will be only part of that effort and stressed that the cuts won't undermine customer service. In fact, she pointed out that ScottishPower has vowed to improve customer service, launching eight customer guarantees that take effect 90 days from the closing of the merger (which works out to early March). She said the emphasis will be on improving efficiency through procedures and investments in technology. "It's working practices, how you do things," she said. "It's working more efficiently. It's making sure (employees) get the right tools to do the job." Today's Business Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA