-----Original Message-----
From: 	Kelly, Mike E.  
Sent:	Thursday, November 01, 2001 10:43 AM
To:	Polsky, Phil
Subject:	FW: Key Enron Employees Aren't Jumping Ship, Recruiters Say


 -----Original Message-----
From: 	"Erickson, Martha J SHLOIL" <merickson@shell.com>@ENRON  
Sent:	Thursday, November 01, 2001 10:34 AM
To:	Kelly, Mike E.
Subject:	Key Enron Employees Aren't Jumping Ship, Recruiters Say

10/31/2001 16:33:09
Key Enron Employees Aren't Jumping Ship, Recruiters Say
Dow Jones International News Service via Dow Jones
By Michael Rieke Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--Enron Corp.'s (ENE) current problems aren't sending its
key employees running for the door, according to two executive recruiters.
While employees at Enron's underperforming units are shopping around for new
jobs, those working for its core wholesale energy trading and retail energy
units seem content, the recruiters told Dow Jones Newswires.
"We've been getting resumes from their international group over the last
year," said Bruce Peterson, managing director for Korn Ferry in Houston.
"But its been a very well-known fact that they're getting out of those
businesses."
Another Houston recruiter, who didn't want to be identified, said he has
gotten "a flood" of resumes from employees at Enron's natural gas and power
assets in South America.
Employees at Enron's broadband unit are also sending out resumes, said the
recruiter. That business has brought the company losses of more than $100
million this year despite hundreds of layoffs. Enron continues to cut costs
in its telecom business.
Neither recruiter has seen many resumes from Enron's big moneymakers - the
wholesale energy trading group and the retail energy services group.
Some of the lower-level employees of those units have sent out resumes but
Peterson said he hasn't seen higher-level executives in the job market.
However, he attached a caveat to that statement.
"Quite a few of the senior people at Enron have left over the last 6-12
months," he said.
When Enron's share price was flying high last year and early this year, some
of Enron's top executives cashed out their stock options and left the
company.
Those executives included Cliff Baxter, former vice chairman and chief
strategy officer; Ken Rice, former head of Enron Capital and Trade as well
as former chief executive of Enron Broadband Services; Kevin Hannon, former
president of Enron Broadband Services; and Lou Pai, former chairman and
chief executive of Enron Energy Services.
The lure of cashing out lucrative stock options won't cost Enron any more
employees any time soon. The company's share price has fallen too far too
quickly, leaving the options underwater.
The company's shares traded as high as $80 early this year. By July the
price had dropped to around $50, leaving employees with options that were
virtually worthless. So Enron told employees it would issue new options in
August.
But the company's share price continued to fall as more and more bad news
came out. The new options issued in August, when the share prices were
around $40, are now underwater also.
Now that the options are out of the money, Enron employees are more
vulnerable to the lure of other companies, Peterson said.
Enron could face another problem in keeping key people. Its employees work
under two-year contracts. If they leave Enron before their contracts
expires, a noncompete clause could prevent them for working for a
competitor.
Some of those contracts will expire at the end of the year. Without the
incentive of lucrative stock options, Enron might have a difficult time
getting employees to agree to new contracts with a noncompete clause,
Peterson said.
An Enron spokeswoman said the company isn't planning to issue more new
options to employees.
-By Michael Rieke, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9207;
michael.rieke@dowjones.com


Copyright (c) 2001 Dow Jones and Company, Inc.
Received by NewsEdge Insight: 10/31/2001 16:33:09


Marty Erickson
Media Relations Consultant
merickson@shell.com
713-241-5164 Direct Line
713-241-4544 Media Relations
713-241-2441 Fax