steve cooper voicemail - 03 / 01 / 2002 on friday , steve cooper left the following voicemail for employees . since some employees do not have access to voicemail , we are providing the following transcript of that message .
you can also access this message and past messages at : http : / / home . enron . com / updates / .
voicemail
from : steve cooper
date : friday , march 1 , 2002
hi everybody . it ' s steve cooper . it ' s friday afternoon , march 1 . i hope everybody has had a great week . i want to update everybody on a number of things that have gone on this week , so that you all will be fully in the loop .
the week started in a rough - and - tumble fashion . i went to a town meeting monday night to meet with a number of our ex - colleagues . their disappointment , upset and anger is very understandable . i , along with the entire management team , have committed that we are going to try to do whatever we can to fashion a reasonable resolution to their various issues .
in order to make sure that those that are truly in need have something to fall back on , we asked the court later in the week and got the judge to approve an emergency $ 5 million fund . we are now going to fish around for an independent administrator to evaluate the needs and disperse those dollars to former employees . i wanted you to be aware of that . i really do appreciate and understand everybody ' s upset .
last friday , february 22 , we presented to the creditors ' committee a formal proposal on a retention and severance program . as can be expected , there was some push back from the committee - - there were issues about some of the data , there were requests for additional data and further clarification .
the creditors ' committee formed a subcommittee . we provided to them more data . jeff mcmahon and i met with them on wednesday , february 27 , and we met with them again on thursday , february 28 . we are scheduled to meet with them again on monday and tuesday to resolve all the open issues and to get the full support and endorsement of the creditors ' committee on this program .
i have indicated to the subcommittee that getting a plan in place is jeff ' s and my highest priority . it is not right or fair for anyone to be in a state of ongoing uncertainty about their future , their future compensation , and any financial safety net , so we are going to have to move on this at light speed . i told the creditors ' subcommittee and asked that they tell the full committee that we want to be in a position by the week of march 11 to motion this up to the court . i ' ll keep you posted on progress . i am comfortable that the committee wants to put in place the retention and severance program and now we are just working out the bugs . hopefully , by the time we have the employee meeting , we can walk through the composition of the program in detail .
the powers that be - management in conjunction with the human resources group - are working on merit increases and promotions . hopefully all the details of a program will be finalized next week . then , the process is typically that business unit managers begin to calculate salary increases . and it works its way through the review , approval and communication process . so hopefully , we ' ll have that all resolved in the next week or two and everyone will know where they stand with respect to promotions and merit increases .
we reached an accord with the astros this week to repatriate to enron $ 2 . 1 million for the release of our rights to the naming contract . it is a shame we won ' t be in a position to support the naming of the field , but it is probably in the best interest of the estate . i got a great suggestion from one of our colleagues about auctioning enron field signs and contributing net proceeds to the ex - employees ' fund . i ' d like your input on that . i thought it was a great idea and very generous .
we are moving forward with plans for an employee meeting later this month . hopefully i ' ll be able to meet many of you there . i ' ve tried to get around to say hello here and there . and again , i would encourage you if you have any questions , concerns or issues just give me an email or a buzz . sometimes it takes a few days for me to get back to you , but i ' m making a very concerted effort to answer everybody ' s inquiries .
other than that i don ' t have a lot to report . we ' ll continue to hammer out with the committee the retention program . hopefully by next friday i ' ll be able to report very substantial progress in this area . i want to thank everybody for their efforts , all their hard work and their focus on moving things forward .
one other thing ?
we did have a bank meeting on thursday afternoon . we have described to the banks what we believe is a very reorganizable entity here . we ' ll be sharing more about that at the employee meeting . i told the bank group , and it was echoed by management , that we believe there is a reorganizable , viable entity in enron ' s future . i ' ll bring you all fully up to speed on that at the employee meeting .
anyway , as i was saying ?
thanks so much for all your hard work , your efforts , your dedication . i hope you have a great weekend . i ' ll chat with next week .
steve cooper voicemail - 03 / 01 / 2002
on friday , steve cooper left the following voicemail for employees . since some employees do not have access to voicemail , we are providing the following transcript of that message .
you can also access this message and past messages at : http : / / home . enron . com / updates / .
voicemail
from : steve cooper
date : friday , march 1 , 2002
hi everybody . it ' s steve cooper . it ' s friday afternoon , march 1 . i hope everybody has had a great week . i want to update everybody on a number of things that have gone on this week , so that you all will be fully in the loop .
the week started in a rough - and - tumble fashion . i went to a town meeting monday night to meet with a number of our ex - colleagues . their disappointment , upset and anger is very understandable . i , along with the entire management team , have committed that we are going to try to do whatever we can to fashion a reasonable resolution to their various issues .
in order to make sure that those that are truly in need have something to fall back on , we asked the court later in the week and got the judge to approve an emergency $ 5 million fund . we are now going to fish around for an independent administrator to evaluate the needs and disperse those dollars to former employees . i wanted you to be aware of that . i really do appreciate and understand everybody ' s upset .
last friday , february 22 , we presented to the creditors ' committee a formal proposal on a retention and severance program . as can be expected , there was some push back from the committee - - there were issues about some of the data , there were requests for additional data and further clarification .
the creditors ' committee formed a subcommittee . we provided to them more data . jeff mcmahon and i met with them on wednesday , february 27 , and we met with them again on thursday , february 28 . we are scheduled to meet with them again on monday and tuesday to resolve all the open issues and to get the full support and endorsement of the creditors ' committee on this program .
i have indicated to the subcommittee that getting a plan in place is jeff ' s and my highest priority . it is not right or fair for anyone to be in a state of ongoing uncertainty about their future , their future compensation , and any financial safety net , so we are going to have to move on this at light speed . i told the creditors ' subcommittee and asked that they tell the full committee that we want to be in a position by the week of march 11 to motion this up to the court . i ' ll keep you posted on progress . i am comfortable that the committee wants to put in place the retention and severance program and now we are just working out the bugs . hopefully , by the time we have the employee meeting , we can walk through the composition of the program in detail .
the powers that be - management in conjunction with the human resources group - are working on merit increases and promotions . hopefully all the details of a program will be finalized next week . then , the process is typically that business unit managers begin to calculate salary increases . and it works its way through the review , approval and communication process . so hopefully , we ' ll have that all resolved in the next week or two and everyone will know where they stand with respect to promotions and merit increases .
we reached an accord with the astros this week to repatriate to enron $ 2 . 1 million for the release of our rights to the naming contract . it is a shame we won ' t be in a position to support the naming of the field , but it is probably in the best interest of the estate . i got a great suggestion from one of our colleagues about auctioning enron field signs and contributing net proceeds to the ex - employees ' fund . i ' d like your input on that . i thought it was a great idea and very generous .
we are moving forward with plans for an employee meeting later this month . hopefully i ' ll be able to meet many of you there . i ' ve tried to get around to say hello here and there . and again , i would encourage you if you have any questions , concerns or issues just give me an email or a buzz . sometimes it takes a few days for me to get back to you , but i ' m making a very concerted effort to answer everybody ' s inquiries .
other than that i don ' t have a lot to report . we ' ll continue to hammer out with the committee the retention program . hopefully by next friday i ' ll be able to report very substantial progress in this area . i want to thank everybody for their efforts , all their hard work and their focus on moving things forward .
one other thing ?
we did have a bank meeting on thursday afternoon . we have described to the banks what we believe is a very reorganizable entity here . we ' ll be sharing more about that at the employee meeting . i told the bank group , and it was echoed by management , that we believe there is a reorganizable , viable entity in enron ' s future . i ' ll bring you all fully up to speed on that at the employee meeting .
anyway , as i was saying ?
thanks so much for all your hard work , your efforts , your dedication . i hope you have a great weekend . i ' ll chat with next week .