Banking, finance, and taxes

Lehman (LEH) To Drop 6% Of Work Force, Not Enough

Lehman_brothersLehman (LEH) will lay off about 6% of its work force according to The New York Times. That is about 1,500 people, but it is not nearly enough.

Earlier in the day an analyst from Fox-Pitt Kelton said that Lehman would be one of three firms which would "together write-down $6.1 billion on their "problem assets" across leveraged loans, and commercial and residential mortgages." The other two companies are Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS).

If a large portion of these write-downs comes at Lehman and its money management arm Neuberger Berman has not been sold, the brokerage will need to bring in more money, even if the deal has to be done below market. There is no sign among the company’s investors or comment in the analyst community that says Lehman’s troubles are going to end soon.

Lehman will have to do much more than let go a small portion of its staff. It needs to raise $5 billion quickly.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Get Ready To Retire (Sponsored)

Start by taking a quick retirement quiz from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes, or less.

Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests.

Here’s how it works:
1. Answer SmartAsset advisor match quiz
2. Review your pre-screened matches at your leisure. Check out the advisors’ profiles.
3. Speak with advisors at no cost to you. Have an introductory call on the phone or introduction in person and choose whom to work with in the future

Get started right here.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.