Brokers’ Mood Ranges From Glum to Irate

The mood was glum and even angry this afternoon at the New York headquarters of the once-powerful investment banking firm Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc., as workers prepared resumes and waited for their employer to file for bankruptcy protection.

“It looks like it’s over for us,” one of Drexel’s 5,300 employees said. “We were told yesterday: ‘Look for a job.’ ”

“The mood here is somber,” another employee said. “No one is jumping out of windows, but everyone is saddened by it.”

“A lot of people stayed with the firm through thick and thin,” one former Drexel official said. “They were extremely loyal and their management never came clean. Now they’re going to get screwed. It’s like the old saying, ‘If you want a friend on Wall Street, buy yourself a dog.’ ”