Lehman Brothers, the banking major which collapsed into bankruptcy under huge obligations, has surprisingly become the hottest place for the job seekers on the Wall Street, with the firm recruiting back as many as 200 employees and still looking for more, a media report says.
Lehman, left with $7 billion in cash and more than 1,400 private investments valued at $12.3 billion after the sale of many of its businesses to Barclays PLC and Nomura Holdings Inc, has become attractive for those looking for jobs amid the massive layoffs being announced by other financial services majors.
Alvarez & Marsal, a New York-based restructuring firm, appointed by the collapsed 158-year old investment bank's board to administer the bankrupt company's estate, had kept 130 Lehman employees on the firm's payroll.
In an interview to the Wall Street Journal, Lehman Brothers Holdings Chief Executive Officer Bryan Marsal said: "It has also recruited back more than 200 former Lehman employees, and is still hiring staff to handle targeted areas such as derivatives and real-estate holdings."
The report by the Wall Street Journal stated that the wages at Lehman are not that great by past standards, but there are hidden benefits as it could take two years or more to wind down the firm and such a timeline promises the kind of job security that is a rarity on Wall Street today.
Besides, the company has also allowed its former Chairman and CEO Richard Fuld, who was removed from the payroll on the first day of the new year, to keep an office at the firm.
"We asked him to stay if he has nowhere better to go," said Marsal, who is also co-founder of Alvarez & Marsal, on the decision to hold back the former chief executive. "He's been very good about making himself available for questions about Lehman assets," he added.
