Lehman employees to be paid more than firm is worth

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc is worth less than half the $6.4 billion the bank has set aside to pay employees so far this year.

Shares of the New York-based investment bank were down 8.8 percent at $3.85 in morning trading in the New York Stock Exchange, valuing the company at $2.7 billion, according to Reuters data.

Lehman shares have slumped more than 75 percent this week and more than 90 percent since a 52-week high reached on November 14, 2007, amid growing concern about the 158-year-old investment bank's survival in the credit crisis.

Lehman had 25,935 employees at the end of August. It has recorded $6.4 billion for compensation and benefits expense in its first three fiscal quarters, which includes severance for employees that have been laid off.

(Reporting by Juan Lagorio; Editing by Brian Moss)