How did Enron’s collapse affect the value of employees’ 401(k) retirement accounts?

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Enron scandal The Enron logo outside the company's headquarters, Houston.

The collapse of the Enron Corporation had a devastating impact on the retirement savings of its workforce. Because Enron employees’ 401(k) pension accounts were primarily tied to company stock, the rapid decline of Enron’s share price—which plummeted from a high of $90 in 2000 to under $1 per share by late 2001—effectively wiped out the value of those investments.1

Following the company's bankruptcy filing in December 2001, numerous civil lawsuits were initiated by shareholders and employees. While some of these legal actions were successful, most investors were unable to recover their losses, and employees ultimately received only a small fraction of their original 401(k) holdings.1