Severance: $4,500 avg vs. $55M bonuses
Average Enron employee severance was about $4,500, while management bonuses — separate from stock cashouts — totaled more than $55 million.
Where this was said
The Human Cost: 20,000 Jobs, Frozen 401(k)s, and Devastated Communities
At 48:04 · chapter starts 46:40
This chapter is the moral reckoning. The human cost of Enron's collapse was staggering: 20,000 employees were given hours to clear their desks, loading bankers' boxes with their belongings. Their 401(k) accounts had been frozen during what appeared to be a routine provider change — which Josh strongly implies was deliberate — preventing them from selling their shares while executives quietly made tens of millions in options trades. One worker in the documentary had nearly $350,000 in Enron stock that ultimately sold for $1,200. Severance averaged $4,500 per employee while management collected over $55 million in bonuses. The fallout spread beyond Enron workers: the Houston Red Cross chapter had to cut its annual budget from $12 million to $9 million because Enron had been one of its largest donors. And ordinary investors who had simply bought Enron stock — with no connection to the company — lost everything as the price fell from $90 to $0.40.
Employee stock: $350K → $1,200
One rank-and-file Enron employee had nearly $350,000 in company stock in his 401(k) that ultimately sold for just $1,200 after the collapse.
Stock price: $90 → $0.40
Enron's stock, which peaked at $90 per share, collapsed to around $0.40 in roughly a year, wiping out employee retirement savings.
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