19th Apr 2008
“Everything’s fine”
The general goal of Bear Stearn’s New Hires Become Job Seekers is to describe life for new hires at Bear Stearns as they find alternative work, but what struck me was the repeated reassurances to new hires that everything was fine during the dying days of Bear Stearns.
Sign #1: The first sign of trouble came March 12, when Alan D. Schwartz, the chief executive of Bear, appeared on CNBC as rumors swirled that the bank was in trouble. After the program, a Bear human resources staff member e-mailed the clip to a group of incoming analysts and wrote a note telling them the bank was sound.
Sign #2: Even after JPMorgan agreed to buy Bear for a fire-sale $2 a share, Bear staff members assured some students their jobs seemed safe.
Sign #3: Cheyenne Sparrow, a junior at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, said she was skeptical all along, even though her contact at Bear assured her that everything would be fine.
“My parents work in business, and they’ve sold companies, so I know the first thing you do is tell all the employees, ‘Everything will be fine,’ ” Ms. Sparrow said. “It’s a stall tactic.”
At least she knew how to read the signs. You can read more at Bear Stearn’s New Hires Become Job Seekers.
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