Enron may change name
Looks for 'fresh start' in new name; may expand layoffs, retention payments.
February 22, 2002: 8:45 a.m. ET
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Bankrupt energy trader Enron Corp. is considering changing its now infamous name, according to a wire service report.
Associated Press quoted a company spokesman Friday as saying that the Houston-based company is looking at a name change "as part of a fresh start."
Months of investigations and reports about the company's questionable accounting practices have turned the name Enron into shorthand for questionable business practices in many quarters. Investors have been urged to take steps to "Enron-proof" their portfolios.
A company official was not immediately available for comment on the report.
AP also reported that the company plans to pay bonuses to keep some key people at the same time it plans an additional round of layoffs.
Enron spokesman Mark Palmer says the company will rely on layoffs and attrition over the next two years to trim its worldwide workforce of 20,000. But he told AP the retention bonuses are needed to keep personnel who are essential to help the company survival its bankruptcy.
In early December, immediately after the bankruptcy filing, Enron said it would pay $55 million to 500 employees it considered essential to entice them to stay for at least 90 days. Many of those 90-day periods are reaching an end. Those earlier payments, which averaged $110,000 apiece, were far larger than the flat $4,500 received by dismissed Enron workers.
Many Enron employees lost large stock holdings and saw stock options become worthless when the company was forced to file for bankruptcy court protection Dec. 2.
AP also reported that Enron is considering moving out of its Houston office building as a cost-saving move. 
From staff and wire reports
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