ATLANTA – Cox Communications, Inc. today pledged its commitment to employees and customers in its devastated New Orleans market, promising to restore the cable telecommunications system there as quickly as possible and to be a key partner in the rebuilding of the city.

"The tragic devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans is unprecedented in American history. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone along the Gulf Coast whose lives have been impacted," said Jim Robbins, President & CEO. "In this time of crisis, our top priorities remain locating employees to verify their safety and well-being and the swift restoration of vital services to our customers."

By Thursday, the company had verified the safety of roughly 60% of New Orleans employees and was striving to reach the remainder. To this end, Cox is publicizing two contact numbers for employees - one to report their whereabouts and contact information and another to call for updates:

 

• Cox Communications Employee Check-In Number: 1-800-637-3545 option #7
• Cox Communications Employee Updates: 1-866-217-7363

   

"We're trying to reach our employees so that we can offer help," said Claus Kroeger, Senior Vice President of Operations for Cox's central division. "We want to make sure that our family of Cox employees is cared for during this crisis. For those not stranded or in immediate crisis, basic life issues such as receiving their paychecks will soon become important. Our New Orleans employees will continue to be paid, and we expect to put those employees back to work shortly in some capacity."

The Cox Employee Disaster Relief Fund has been established to help the employees of Cox Communications and other Cox Enterprises companies to rebuild their lives. Cox reports a tremendous outpouring of support from Cox employees in other markets, programmer and vendor partners, commercial customers and individuals. "So many people have contacted us to ask how they and their organizations can help," said Pat Esser, Chief Operations Officer. "Through the Relief Fund, we'll be able to help our employees and their families recover and rebuild."

"While the immediate crisis of rescuing those stranded in New Orleans is ongoing, it's difficult to think about what comes afterward," said Esser. "Today, however, we pledge our dedication to the community of New Orleans. We want our employees and customers in New Orleans to know that we are committed to rebuilding our cable telecommunications system to a state-of-the-art facility as quickly as humanly possible. We want the citizens of New Orleans to know that they can count on Cox Communications to be a key partner in the rebuilding of this city. The work will be tremendous. The work will be hard. But that work will be done, and we'll be proud to be a part of it."

Contact:
David Grabert
(404)269-7054
David.Grabert@Cox.com