Bear Stearns offers rescinded

With only weeks left until the end of the academic year, JPMorgan Chase, the investment firm that acquired Bear Stearns last month, has started rescinding offers made last fall for summer internships and full-time positions.

But the investment firm is not leaving students completely empty-handed.

JPMorgan Chase acquired 39.5 percent of Bear Stearns in March because the latter investment firm was on the verge of collapse, leaving the fate of many students' internships and future jobs unsure.

According to JPMorgan's Human Resources department, the company is now offering paid internships at nonprofit organizations to those students who are losing summer internship offers. The salaries at the nonprofit firms will be the same as those previously negotiated with Bear Stearns. The firm will also offer complimentary career services with signing bonuses and relocation fees to those seniors who are losing full-time positions they were offered for the fall.

"It's still not a great situation, but at least they are not totally throwing students out in the wind," said Career Services Senior Associate Director Barbara Hewitt.

Before the takeover, nine Penn students had internship offers and 12 students had full-time offers from Bear Stearns, according to Career Services.

Hewitt added that though JPMorgan only plans on rescinding half of Bear Stearns' total offers, many Penn students will likely be affected since some of their offers were in investment banking, a branch facing heavy cuts as a result of the acquisition.

Bear Stearns offers made in other business areas that had "little to no overlap with JPMorgan" - like commodity and prime brokerage - will more likely be honored. Those that are affected must notify JPMorgan by April 30 if they plan on taking advantage of the resources and alternatives offered.

But many students are still unsure of their future plans.

College senior Yashoda Khandkar was offered a job with Bear Stearns in October and planned to work there this fall - until JPMorgan recently informed her that it would not honor her contract.

The timing of the announcement "closed a lot of doors, [since] graduate school applications are long overdue and most recruiting cycles at comparable firms are over," she said.

Khandkar added that Career Services has been "extremely helpful" in finding potential alternative opportunities and aiding in finding new jobs.

"A lot of students are . realizing that they can move forward and there are still other opportunities out there," Hewitt said.

Columbia sophomore Cindy True said that she has not heard from JPMorgan about her internship status but has a backup offer if it falls through.

"This [problem] is just an introduction to the industry," True said.

"Obviously, it's a lousy situation," Hewitt added. "No one wants to accept a job in October and find out in April that they don't have it."

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