With earnings withered, Nomura holdings will need to quickly cut 4,000 of its 26,000 employees to reduce costs, including ex-Lehman Brothers employees which were acquired after the American bank’s bankruptcy, according to a report.

“The issue is how quickly can they lower the recurring cost base,” a Tokyo-based analyst who covers Nomura but was not authorized to speak on the record with the media told Reuters.

“The departure of ex-Lehman guys will lead to a reduction of that cost base,” he said. “Even after a 10 percent reduction, they have to reduce their costs further.

The cost cutting may come just after Lehman employees are given guarantees of bonuses from the 2007 bull market, the report states. Some awards will be more than $3 million apiece, depending on which department they worked in, sources told Reuters. Some guarantees were offered for 2-3 years.

Seventy percent of the annual guarantee is set to be given next week, when Nomura’s financial year ends, with the rest in October, the sources said.

Lehman brothers