Enron Chief Seeks to Reassure Employees

The chairman of Enron Corp. sought to reassure employees Thursday that the energy giant’s business is on firm footing as its stock faced a second day of brutal pressure on Wall Street following a top executive’s surprise resignation.

Kenneth L. Lay told employees at a companywide meeting that Enron’s business is strong, despite the extended pressure on its stock and heir apparent Jeffrey K. Skilling’s unexpected resignation as chief executive and president.

“We’ve got a lot of great stuff going on and we’re not getting much credit for it in the marketplace, but we will,” Lay said. His comments came as Enron’s stock saw its worst day in 19 months, closing down $3.40, or 8.5%, at $36.85 on the New York Stock Exchange. That brings its losses to about 13% since Skilling announced his resignation after the market’s close Tuesday.