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NY Lehman Crew Gets $2.5B Bonus Pool
European workers, unsure of salaries, furious at payout
By Matt Cantor
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Posted Sep 23, 08 9:00 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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Some 10,000 New York Lehman Brothers employees will share bonus pay of $2.5 billion, sparking anger among the investment bank’s European workers and critics of unfair compensation in the imploding finance arena, the Independent reports. The money was arranged before Lehman declared bankruptcy. Lehman’s British staff, who are bracing for the loss of jobs or pay rates, called the bonus pay a “scandal.”
The European workers’ frustration was further fueled by Lehman’s transfer of $8 billion from its European coffers to New York before the meltdown, a loss which threatened their salaries. A loan later guaranteed their September wages. Meanwhile, Barclays, which bought Lehman’s US business, is negotiating to hang on to top figures at the investment bank, offering salaries of tens of millions of dollars.