While Enron Corp. was firing back at what it called “inaccurate” news stories and attorney statements about the inopportune freezing of the company’s 401(k) retirement program, about 3,000 former Enron employees were spending the day at the ballpark, cruising through a mammoth job fair at the Astro’s Enron Field in Houston.

There were an estimated 300 potential employers and college alumni associations on site for the event sponsored by the Houston Astros and former employer Enron. Potential employers were mostly Houston-area companies, along with some from as far away as New York and California. Enron said it may sponsor another job fair in January, although it has not finalized any details.

Enron, meanwhile, said that its employees had plenty of time to move their funds in their 401(k) accounts out of Enron stock before the bankruptcy filing on Dec. 2. In a written statement, Enron noted that an administrative change in the program did not allow employees to transfer funds for 10 trading days, Oct. 29 to Nov. 13, however, employees could have moved the funds any time before or after that period. In that two-week period, Enron’s stock fell from $13.81 to $9.98.

“Outside of the brief transition period, Enron employees have always been able to transfer their own contributions in the 401(k), at any time,” it said in the statement. “They have 20 investment options to choose from, Enron stock being one of them.” Also, Enron noted that throughout the month of October, it had informed employees of the transition period through a mailing to their residences and several times through Enron’s internal e-mail system.

Several class action lawsuits have been instigated against Enron by former employees who have allegedly lost an estimated $850 million in Enron stock through their retirement accounts.

For former employees looking for a job, Enron has set up a web site at www.careerservices.enron.com. Former employees also started their own web site with an extensive message board for potential employers at www.enronx.org. Also, the U.S. Department of Labor has activated a toll-free hot line to take calls from laid-off Enron employees, which directs them to nearby One-Stop employment centers. The number is (877) US2-JOBS.

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