WorldCom bankruptcy impacting former workers in Tulsa

After wobbling for weeks, WorldCom has come crashing down. The telecom giant has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, the biggest one in US history, twice as big as Enron. The company filed Sunday night.

Monday, July 22nd 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

After wobbling for weeks, WorldCom has come crashing down. The telecom giant has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, the biggest one in US history, twice as big as Enron. The company filed Sunday night.

News on Six business reporter Steve Berg explains what that means for WorldCom workers in Tulsa. The good news is that WorldCom says there will be no further layoffs. But as for the people who have â€œalreadyâ€ been laid off, there may be insult to injury.

A report in the Wall Street Journal says the severance pay may be in jeopardy for many of those ex-workers. WorldCom is spreading out the severance pay in bi-weekly installments. And those may be interrupted by the bankruptcy. So bad news for the former workers.

One former WorldCom employee tells the News on Six, the severance pay issue is also interfering with efforts to get his unemployment benefits from the government.