750 Jobs to Go at Lehman Europe

Around 750 workers at Lehman Brothers are losing their jobs after the administrator of the European business failed to find a buyer for the fixed income division.

A spokeswoman for PricewaterhouseCoopers, which was appointed to run the bank after its US parent failed two weeks ago, said roughly half the jobs being lost were in Britain, where Lehman was based in Canary Wharf.

"It is extremely disappointing that despite exhausting all avenues these jobs could not be saved," said PWC partner Tony Lomas.

Most of the job losses are from fixed income, but some workers from Lehman's personal investment team are also going.

PWC announced the sale of Lehman's investment banking and equities divisions last week to the Japanese bank Nomura, securing around 2,500 jobs. PWC had also been talking to Nomura about the fixed income business but was not able to agree a deal.

PWC is still looking for a buyer for Lehman's asset management business.It remains unclear whether the staff losing their jobs in London will get any kind of severance package, although they have all received their September pay.The PWC partners running the business have demanded that Lehman's holding company return $8bn (?4.4bn) that was transferred from London to the US on the Friday before the bank collapsed. The transfer of cash sparked fury among workers in London.

Barclays built its presence on Wall Street when it agreed to buy large parts of Lehman's New York-based business, adding some 10,000 staff. Barclays had also been looking at the London investment bank.

The collapse of Lehman, which was founded 158 years ago, set off the maelstrom that has battered financial markets around the world for the past fortnight and toppled a series of well-known banks.

Employees have been considering a class-action lawsuit against Lehman's chief executive, Richard Fuld, whom UK-based senior staff believe should have apologized about the fate of the firm and particularly the London office. He could also face attempts by creditors to seize the $34.4m pay package he received last year.

While London employees were worrying about whether they might be paid, Barclays was setting aside $2.5bn for bonuses for the Lehman staff it will inherit as a result of its acquisition of the Wall Street operation.