Some former Amgen Inc. employees who relied on the company for help buying their homes when they were hired have been watching the calendar with trepidation.

October marks one year since the largest round of layoffs in Amgen's history. It also was the designated deadline for some former employees to pay back their second mortgage loans from the Thousand Oaks-based biotech giant. But some wiggle room was provided this week.

Amgen sent out letters telling the affected displaced workers that the loans now won't be due until Feb. 2. That adds a few months to the previous one-year extension given to people who were laid off. Normally, the terms call for a person to pay off a loan within 30 days of leaving the company.

"We're hopeful this second extension will be what people need," company spokesman David Polk said.

Many people have been struggling with what to do about their loans. Some have tried to sell their homes, which have declined in value, before facing foreclosure — only to have Amgen balk at a "short sale." That's when a lender agrees to accept less money than what is owed on a home so the debtor can turn over the keys without being saddled with a financial burden, a tool that limits damage to both parties in a depressed market.

Others, who had planned to stay in their homes, are wrestling with walking away.

Polk said a number of former employees repaid their loans before the October deadline. Those trying to work out short sales are not indicative of the overall situation, he said. The company could not talk about individual situations, but the hope is the extension will help former employees in repaying their balances.

When one homeowner was asked if the extension would help, she replied: "Unless we win the lottery, not really."

She had hoped for a plan to pay off the loan over time. Others wish the company had maintained the terms of the loans as they were when they were hired.

One Thousand Oaks resident said her family is ready to walk away if necessary.

She said her family moved to the area because her husband got a job at the biotech company, but the family wanted to stay in the home even after the layoffs. She added that there were few options because the company hasn't been open to working with people who hold a second mortgage.

"We've already poised ourselves to walk away," she said. A month ago, the family was wrestling with the grief of the money and sweat equity they would lose — as well as the emotional ties to their home.

"We're on the other side of that now," she said.

Simply better to leave

Looking at the math, there isn't a good solution without Amgen's cooperation. If Amgen sends a notice of default, it would simply be better to leave, she said.

The home, which is a modest size, has dropped too much in value to refinance.

The family still has solid credit and good income — her husband has found another job — but having a second mortgage come due years earlier than planned has thrown them into a bind.

And they are not alone.

On Cafepharma.com, an industry Web site with company message boards, the second mortgage mess has been a discussion topic for weeks.

Homeowners with Amgen second mortgages interviewed for this story did not want their names used because they feared retribution.

One former employee moved from the East Coast to work for Amgen, seeing it as a stable company where she could do some good. It wasn't until after she was hired that she heard rumblings of financial woes.

Down payment eaten away

Now, she is unemployed. The 50-something single woman doesn't have another household income to help and refinancing is not an option.

She's watched her down payment on the home be eaten away in the falling market, and she is on the verge of being upside down in her mortgage.

The only way she could relocate would be to pull money out of her retirement account. Amgen should pick up the cost of refinancing fees since the company is the one that called due the loans early, she said.

Those who lost their jobs are careful to point out they received good severance packages from the company. But they worry about how to deal with the loans.

Polk said people who were laid off have not had to make payments on the loans during the past year and now will be able to hold off on those payments through February. Interest will continue to accrue.

"Understanding the difficulty of the situation, the company was mindful of trying to be respectful ... to try to make the transition as painless as possible for our former staff," he said.

Those mired in the mortgage mess have brought up the case of Amgen's former chief financial officer, who got a different deal.

CFO Richard Nanula resigned from Amgen in April 2007 and remained with the company three more months. When he was hired in 2001, Nanula's job offer included a $3 million loan at 5 percent annual interest with the principal and interest due nine years after the loan was made — subject to acceleration upon the termination of his employment for any reason.

In the company's proxy statement of April 1, 2008, Amgen noted it had amended the terms of Nanula's loan on Sept. 11, 2007, which deferred payment on the principal and accrued interest until June 27, 2010.

For former employees who have loans with Amgen, this represents a disconnect between what was done for a high-ranking executive and them.

Polk said Nanula resigned before the company's restructuring. He added that Nanula did not receive any severance package, bonus or benefits when he resigned.

Even with the latest extension, some people said they have to come up with a lot of money several years ahead of schedule.

"We'd like to stay in our home," said the wife of one former Amgen employee, who has found another job in the area.

But she doubted there were many people who could quickly come up with 20 percent of their homes' value — at least without robbing retirement savings or college funds.

"I don't know what will happen," she said. "Our family's very scared. I imagine they'll take our house. I don't know. I hope not."