American Express 2001 Annual Report Download - page 26

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Remembering September 11
As all of you know, the terrorist attacks stunned the world and left behind a
terrible amount of destruction and loss of life. For American Express, the
crisis hit close to home. Sadly, 11 of our employees who worked at the
World Trade Center died. Many other employees lost family members,
friends and neighbors. And thousands of our colleagues who worked
in lower Manhattan had to flee the smoke, debris and ashes that
engulfed the area.
As overwhelming as the attacks were, our people went the extra mile to help
each other, our clients and our business partners under extremely difficult cir-
cumstances. Our colleagues at the Servicing Centers outside of New York City
were able to ensure that business operations continued without interruption
immediately after the attack. Employees in the New York area who were dis-
placed from their offices showed particular resilience as they resumed work
despite the difficult conditions. In American Express tradition, our employees
demonstrated an unparalleled commitment to customer service.
Our headquarters building, which is located across the street from the World
Trade Center, sustained significant damage, and we had to relocate our New
York staff to a number of interim facilities. We decided, however, to return to
New York. American Express Tower has been our company’s home for 15 years,
and our corporate headquarters has been located in lower Manhattan for most
of our history. This April, we plan to reestablish our headquarters in the Tower.
Doing so reaffirms our commitment to New York City and will help revitalize
an important part of the city.
axp_24
We are re:affirmingour commitment
to New York City and to lower Manhattan by returning to our headquarters building.
American Express reached out to
support New York City merchants
after the September 11 terrorist
attacks. The company’s efforts
included launching a series of
print and television advertisements
promoting downtown establish-
ments – reminding consumers
that these merchants were “open”
for business.