Obviously one of the more pressing questions for many former Lehman Brothers employees right now, second only to 'where the fuck is Dick Fuld,' is what their severance packages will be like. Forbes sort of answers that question by telling us those not employed by the newly formed BarcLehs will be paid "severance equal to what was promised Lehman...estimated at about $2.5 billion."
In other, less vague but more flaming news regarding bones tossed to the unemployed, Andrew Lloyd Webber is reportedly offering free admission to "The Sound of Music" and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" to former Bros.
"Both 'The Sound of Music' and 'Joseph' are feel-good shows and I thought that free tickets might offer some respite, albeit for a couple hours, for some of those people who have sadly lost their jobs in the current economic upheaval," Webber told Forbes (ALW is also said to be working on a new musical called "The Last Days In Fuld's Bunker.") Unfortunately you need to be in London to redeem the offer but those laid off in New York can get passes to a crap movie of your choice, on DB. Carney will even throw in for Junior Mints.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:01AM
Forbes is obviously not well versed in bk law...no one is getting a dime until creditors get paid.
Posted by mj , Sep 18, 2008 11:01AM
"two weeks notice"?
Posted by AJ , Sep 18, 2008 11:06AM
@1 Does that apply to the people "hired" by Barclays when it bought the broker-dealer? I'd assume that this means Barclays would take on all the employees of the US BD and then fire the ones it doesn't want. Can't it then pay those people severance?
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:09AM
Now that the market for his services has collapsed, he has time to go home and figure out which of the children roaming around the mansion are actually his.
-Michael Lewis
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:09AM
Now that the market for his services has collapsed, he has time to go home and figure out which of the children roaming around the mansion are actually his.
-Michael Lewis
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:09AM
Everyone at Lehman is getting a free copy of Nassim Taleb's "The Black Swan." All they have to do is get a library card and bring the book back within three weeks or they'll be charged $0.05 a day.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:11AM
AJ - Your proposal would circumvent the banktruptcy law, but it would be lousy business for Barclay's.
Not to be heartless hear, but why would Barclay's pay severance to an employee when it doesn't have to?
Unless the issue of employee severance was dealt with ahead of time and figured into the BD purchase price, I see no reason for Baclay's to play the role of caring mother.
That said, it is horrible if the LEH rank and file end up with nothing.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:12AM
Now that the market for his services has collapsed, he has time to go home and figure out which of the children roaming around the mansion are actually his.
-Michael Lewis
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:13AM
I can't stand that friggin WMT voice every time I pull up this site.
DB, you are nothing more than a cheap WMT hooker.
Posted by Anal_yst , Sep 18, 2008 11:18AM
props to ALW, not only did he tag sarah brightman (nice), but he's obviously a real (darth-vader-lookalike) standup guy as well
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:19AM
AJ - the post mentions employees not employed by Barclays...well if they are getting sliced and diced i suppose severance since the BD is not bk...but employees left behind at LEH that are shitcanned they are SOL...unless it is a sub that is not bk...which may be the case.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:22AM
All LBI employees (New York) will become Barclays Cap employees (in a couple of days or so.) They will also get a severance if Barclay's decides that their services are no longer required.
Non-LBI non-NY employees (other than NB, which will mostly likely be sold shortly) are currently unemployed and their severance will be paid after the secured creditors are paid in liquidation proceedings. That amount is going to be small too.
The $2.5B figure is for LBI NY employees. Yes, retention and severance is going to cost as much. JPM also spent a simila amount on Bear. The thing is, LBI employees already had some assured severance package. Given that LBI never went bankrupt and was acquired, the package still holds.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:25AM
@12...paid after secured creditors? Try after the unsecured creditors fight it out in bk court as well...that will amount to ZERO! It's going to be a bloodbath.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:26AM
The first name of the CEO of Constellation Energy is "Mayo". I am not making that up. Buffet just bought them.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:27AM
http://postcards.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/09/17/lehman-ceo-dick-fuld-resurfaces/?source=yahoo_quote
A story from yesterday. Still pretty vague on what Dick Fuld has been up to, but he has been spotted.
Posted by AJ , Sep 18, 2008 11:27AM
As part of Barclay's proposal to acquire the US operations, it agreed to pick up the 10,000 or so US broker-dealer employees (not NB ones) and to pay severance to the employees it doesn't keep. This only applies to the employees that are part of the Barclays deal. The others, particularly international, are f'ed.
The initial Barclays proposal was approved by the bankruptcy judge yesterday with a $100 million breakup fee
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:30AM
David Einhorn just blew a load of warm sticky cum on Erin Callan's face. And Erin is swallowing what trickled inside her mouth.
After this, David Einhorn proceeded to spank a bent-over Dick Fuld, with pants on, with a spiked paddle. Dick Fuld, ever the gorilla, is taking the spanking like a good frat boy. So if you are wondering where Dick Fuld is, he is taking a spanking from Einhorn. While Erin tries to clear the cum from her face using Kleenex which is leaving behind a papery residue on her face.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:34AM
@17...you are dispicable. That is even low for DB.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:42AM
Are we throwing our shorts at Blackstone today?
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:42AM
@14 - I saw that on the press release and wondered how long it would be before it hit DB.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:47AM
let's get down to business, what is barclehs going to do with all the first year analysts who just started a week ago? keep cheap labor or fire the whole lot?
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:49AM
Someone came up with this in response to ALW's offer
Doe a bank, that has some cash
Ray , a reverse asset yield
Me, a trader, an unemployed trader
Fa, a long way to the black
So, what do we do next Fed
La, there is none in the jungle
Te, the only drink I can afford
and so were back to
doe a bank, that has some cash
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:49AM
Lehclays, like every other house on the street will have no shortage of cheap labor. Not wishing ill on anyone but the cuts are coming.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:50AM
trade of the week:
long OOM GS Puts at 10 AM, sell anytime thereafter.
repeat.
carry on discussing barcleys and cum.
-retail
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:56AM
WTF?!!! WHy is DB getting scooped by WSJ...
J.P. Morgan Chase stops trading with Citadel Investment in dispute over hedge fund's hiring push. Full story to follow shortly.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 11:57AM
J.P. Morgan Chase stops trading with Citadel Investment in dispute over hedge fund's hiring push. Full story to follow shortly.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 12:09PM
@6
That nickel is roughly, give or take a penny, where LEHMQ is trading at today.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 12:19PM
The dudes at Lehman deserve nothing. no severance for those laid off. no '09 bonus for those retained. as simple as that. as sailors of a ship they sunk, they deserve nothing.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 12:28PM
@28
only homosexuals use sailing metaphors. not that there's anything wrong with that...
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 12:33PM
Anyone have a good receipe for spam? I heard one. Grill some spam with a bit of onion, and garlic. Put that on a hero roll with some lettuce and tomato and add honey dijon mustard and pickles.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 12:33PM
@28 so the admin asst deserves nothing? The HR person deserves nothing? The guy processing dividends deserves nothing? WTF did THEY do?
You're such a dipwad.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 12:33PM
@29
Pirates use sailing metaphors as well.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 12:34PM
29 b.s. That's all I have time for now. GAnalYst
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 12:34PM
Putnam Board Votes to Close Its Institutional Prime Money Market Fund (Story to Come)
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 12:36PM
@33 didn't you think the pic of young Hank with the poor fish was rather dashing?
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 12:43PM
Actually I did. But then I've always liked that lean, clean cut preppy type. GAnalYst
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 12:46PM
@36 Good taste. I thought he looked great! (I'm female).
However the dead fish was a bit turnoff being a vegetarian.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 12:50PM
What is Citadel?
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 12:52PM
156K average per head if you figure they dump 16K employees. That's pretty fucking generous. Almost too good to be true.
Why would Barclays pay anything to a group they owe fuck all to?
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 12:53PM
@38 Have you ever heard of this thing called Google? You use it with that other thing called the Internet.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 12:59PM
LEH retention #s
8 critical employees
200 required eomplyees
Its in Merger agreement
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 1:11PM
barclays just canceled interviews at duke so dont get your hopes up if you're still waiting to hear back from them
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 1:12PM
barclays just canceled interviews at duke so dont get your hopes up if you're still waiting to hear back from them
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 1:20PM
Carney / Bess -- Why do the Lehman folks get the swag? There are plenty of DB readers who have become disenfranchised (laid off) in the past 13 months. I think the proper gesture would be for DB (and sponsors) to host a happy hour for all of these people.
Sure, I feel bad for peeps at Leh, Aig, Merrill, and the rest, but let's show some true compassion here. Some of us have been out of work this whole time while they have still been collecting paychecks.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 2:35PM
barclays just canceled interviews at duke so dont get your hopes up if you're still waiting to hear back from them
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 5:56PM
Barclays has said it will pay bonuses to Lehman employees in an effort to retain them. If too many Lehman employees bounce, the deal will be off, I've read.
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 6:02PM
46 The LEH ee's dont have much leverage. Where they gonna bounce to?
Posted by guest , Sep 18, 2008 9:20PM
Is it true that Pricewaterhouse Coopers in London said that the Lehman London office didn't have enough cash to pay the unpaid salaries to its workers?
Granted this bit of news comes from that paragon of investigative journalism, Daily Mail, but perhaps someone can either confirm or disprove it.