TVA buyout plan sees 600 employees exit as utility cuts $1B in spending

About 600 TVA employees have taken buyouts as part of the federal utility's plan to cut nearly $1 billion in spending by 2026. Departures began in May and will continue through September, a TVA spokesperson confirmed.

“As part of our Enterprise Transformation, we have followed a rigorous process to refine TVA’s operating model and design an organizational structure that prioritizes operational excellence and improves efficiency,” Fiedler said. “To create capacity in the workforce to make sustainable organizational design decisions, a voluntary reduction-in-force offering was made for employees ready for retirement or a new career outside of TVA. More than 600 employees took advantage of the offering and are exiting TVA between May and September.”

The buyouts, offering five days' pay for every year of service, capped at 150 days, are part of TVA's broader cost-cutting plan aimed at boosting efficiency while maintaining workforce stability. Most cuts are voluntary, though a small number of involuntary reductions are possible.

TVA has already accrued $40 million in severance costs, paying out $26 million as of June 30. The utility, headquartered in Knoxville and the largest public utility in the U.S., remains self-funded through electricity sales, with over $12 billion in annual revenue.

Chattanooga, TVA’s largest operations base, has seen no official breakdown of local buyouts.

Despite the cuts, TVA is investing $16 billion in new power plants and grid reliability to meet rising demand, driven by population growth and increased energy use from data centers.