Czech energy conglomerate CEZ would cut staff by 143 at its Varna thermal power plant (TPP) in Bulgaria as part of its restructuring, CEZ Electro Bulgaria announced.

The company planned to streamline operations and eliminate redundancies, outsourcing transport and maintenance activities, mediapool.bg said. The restructuring would take place as of April 1 2008.

The reduction of staff would be based on level of education, qualifications and competence, a CEZ media statement said.

Staff that was made redundant would receive help in finding new employment and at least half of those made redundant would be hired by the firms that were to take on transport and maintenance of the power plant.

The TPP in Varna is Bulgaria's biggest, with an installed power of 1260 MW, but only half of it is in use constantly. Three of its identical 210 MW units are working at a minimum capacity and are only connected to the country's power grid to compensate for electricity shortages in case of emergencies.