Enron Hires And Fires PR Firms

Energy trading corporation Enron has hired "two of the nation's most respected strategic communications firms--Kekst & Company and The Brunswick Group" according to the Holmes Report. The firms have been working with Enron to assist with crisis communications as the company begins bankruptcy proceedings. Holmes reports Kekst has handled numerous projects requiring crisis management for Enron over the years, starting with a crisis involving the company's Puerto Rican water operations. This time Kekst was called in when Enron's financial troubles became public. Brunswick recently began work for Enron following the Dynergy-Enron merger announcement. Meanwhile, O'Dwyer's PR reports, "Several Enron divisions have begun to cancel their PR contracts as a result of the company's ill-fated merger with Dynegy. Don Middleberg, whose New York-based PR firm handled Enron Credit, said he got a letter on Friday (Nov. 30) saying the retainer contract has been terminated." O'Dwyer's also reports that Enron "is firing 4,000 employees in its Houston headquarters because it can no longer afford to pay them. It has already pink-slipped 1,100 employees in Great BritaIn."