Tough Market Greets Bear Castoffs

Thousands of Bear Stearns employees face uncertain futures after the investment bank's takeover by JPMorgan, and they’re entering a Wall Street beset with problems and bereft of jobs, reports Reuters. "They are coming into a market at a time when Wall Street doesn't offer much opportunity," one analyst said. Of 26 top executive positions at JPMorgan, only five went to Bear employees.

Some workers already had their resumes out as the takeover news broke on an employment picture muddied by the credit crunch, said one recruiter. Bear employees aren’t the only ones affected; some JPMorgan execs likely will lose jobs in the merger, and recent graduates offered jobs at either bank could be left out in the cold. (More Bear Stearns stories.)