Oracle, a big Silicon Valley software company, said that one of its employees had been killed on one of the hijacked planes, but declined to give details. Oracle also said six of its employees who were working as consultants for clients in the Trade Center had still not been accounted for.
Despite its worries, the company is trying to continue its normal business routines, said Mark Jarvis, Oracle's chief marketing officer. The company, for example, intends to report its financial results, as scheduled, today. "We focus on keeping our company running," Jarvis said. "Some of our biggest customers are the CIA, the FBI and various emergency services."
In various industries, and throughout the country, corporate chiefs continued sending a steady stream of internal memos, reassuring employees that security precautions were in place and saying whatever they could about the status of employees or their families who may have been traveling or had been at or near the sites of the attacks in New York and Washington.
Thermo Electron Corp, based in Waltham, Massachusetts, had an on office on the 85th floor of Tower 1 at the World Trade Center. Three employees, who were in the office when the plane hit the 88th floor, were able to get out safely via the stairs.
Richard F. Syron, the company's chief, was traveling on the West Coast, and no one was sure on Wednesday when he would make it home. But he sent an e-mail memo to all employees to assure them that the New York contingent was safe, that the company's travel agents are still checking to see whether any of its employees were ticketed on any of the affected flights.
"So far," said Caroline Grossman, Thermo Electron spokeswoman, "we're very hopeful."
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