‘Outraged’ Blumenthal wants DOJ probe of Eversource

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal in Bridgeport, Conn. on January 15, 2016. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal in Bridgeport, Conn. on January 15, 2016. Photo: Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media Buy photo Photo: Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close ‘Outraged’ Blumenthal wants DOJ probe of Eversource 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Shares of Eversource Energy dropped 2 percent Friday morning, after the company released its fourth quarter and 2015 results and outlook, and as U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal expressed “outrage” at circumstances of some 200 Eversource employees who lost their jobs, while calling for an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Eversource (NYSE: ES) is the largest utility operating in Connecticut, listing dual headquarters in Boston and Hartford and with some 3.6 million customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

On Friday, Blumenthal (D-Conn.) called for a federal investigation of whether Eversource improperly laid off 200 information technology workers who were asked to train foreign workers as their replacements.

“You owe your former employees and the people of Connecticut a full accounting of these events,” Blumenthal wrote Eversource CEO Thomas May in a letter dated February 3. “I was particularly concerned by reports of the non-disparagement agreement you required your former employees to sign. Imposing an effective gag order prevents them from speaking openly about their experiences, and further smacks of intimidation.”

Blumenthal was an early backer of the proposed federal I-Squared Act that would triple the number of H-1B visas that allow skilled international workers to take jobs in the United States, then in November 2015 backed new legislation that would limit the ability of companies to replace U.S. workers with those hired from abroad on the H-1B visa program.

Shares of Eversource traded at $53.76 Friday morning, down 2 percent after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings of 57 cents a share, off 6 cents from analyst estimates. Eversource profits totaled $182 million in the fourth quarter, down from $222 million a year ago when earnings were 69 cents a share. Revenue declined 10 percent to just under $1.7 billion.

The fourth quarter declines only dented Eversource’s full year results, with profits at $879 million or $2.76 a share, up from $820 million or $2.58 in 2014, and revenue up 3 percent to nearly $8 billion. Eversource projects 2016 earnings between $2.90 and $3.05 a share.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-964-2236; www.twitter.com/casoulman