Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

Jobless Enron workers network at 'pink slip party'

Andrew Kelly in Houston

Hundreds of jobless workers laid off by bankrupt energy trading giant Enron Corp. mingled at a 'Pink Slip Party' in a trendy uptown Houston bar on Friday, catching up with colleagues and chasing leads for a new job.

Alcoholic refreshment flowed freely and there was much laughing and joking, but most of those present, regarded as some of Houston's best and brightest, were firmly focused on rejoining the ranks of the employed as quickly as possible.

Technical writer Charlie Frausto, 49, said he started his job search a few weeks before Enron's Dec. 2 bankruptcy filing because it was clear that things were not going too well at the Enron Broadband Services unit where he worked.

Frausto has already landed a job interview next week at oilfield services and technology firm Schlumberger Ltd.

"It's the only lead I've got. It's very lean out there in terms of jobs," he said.

Frausto said he attended the gathering to drink a few beers, talk to former colleagues and meet potential employers.

Enron was a top payer in the technical writing field in Houston, he said, adding that he would probably have to take a step down of about $8,000 a year from his $75,000 salary.

'A little bit numbed'

Ronnie Yu, a 21-year-old Java programmer, who joined Enron this summer after graduating from Rice University in Houston said she was still "a little bit numbed" after being laid off.

"I interned with Enron before I graduated and I thought I would stay with them for a while because I really loved the people and the environment there," she said.

"I'm here to meet recruiters and network with people and see what's out there," she said.

Yu said she definitely plans to stay in touch with former Enron colleagues so they can help each other find work.

David Ngo of information technology staffing firm Ergos Technology Partners, who was seeking to sign people up for contract work, said the former Enron employees were taking a realistic view of the current lackluster jobs market.

"They realize they're not going to see anything until the New Year," he said.

But Ngo said employers will jump at the chance to recruit them at the first sign of improvement in the economy.

"Enron people are the cream of the crop. Employers will bring them on board as soon as the market turns around," he said.

Accountant David Saindon, 32, said he too had started to look for a new job several weeks before the bankruptcy, sensing that things were not heading in the right direction.

Saindon said it would probably take a while to find a job that paid as well as his $100,000 base salary at Enron.

"I'm anticipating it will take three months or more to find something at my level or better. I could step down and take a pay cut but I'm not going to do that," he said.

Saindon has lived in Houston for the last 10 years, including 18 months with Enron, but said he was also looking for work in other cities to increase his chance of success.

As an accountant it might be a little easier for him to find a job, he said, as he could transfer to another industry more easily than Enron workers with more specialized jobs tied to electricity and natural gas trading.

Tell us what you think of this report