Benefits November 30, 2001

Kodak Gives Employees a Better Option for Options

November 30, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Some 61,000 employees at Eastman Kodak, who hold stock options with exercise prices so far above the current market price as to make them worthless, may soon be able to trade them in, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Reported by

Camilla Klein

To motivate employees concerned over staff reductions and bonus cuts, Kodak will allow participants in the program to cancel their current options.

In most cases, participants will receive fewer options than they already hold, according to the WSJ, citing Kodak.

To make the plan more palatable to shareholders, the six highest-ranking officers of the company won’t be eligible.

The exercise price of the new options will be Kodak’s stock price six months and one day after the end of the swap period.

The employee option plan involves 33 million shares. The stock swap proposal is subject to the approval of Kodak shareholders.