Lehman Brothers has indicated today that the fate of about 2,500 employees working in India remains uncertain following the investment banker's decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

A statement from the company's New York office confirmed that they would be filing for bankruptcy protection as Lehman Brothers owes over 600 billion dollars to lenders.

The company has however, highlighted that no other Lehman brothers US subsidiaries or affiliates, including its broker-dealer and investment management subsidiaries, are included in the filing.

The filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which allows a company to restructure while creditor claims are held at bay, was made in the US Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York by the investment bank's holding company, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

The firm's public relations agency said that no official from Lehman would like to talk to the media. An employee said there was no work and a series of meetings were held today, a wire agency report said.

Lehman set up BPO operations in India in 2005 and according to the fact sheet on the firm, the centre saw the number of employees going up by eight times by the middle of this year and had declared its plans to grow the operations. In fact, it was recruiting till as recently as couple of months before.

The company has in all about 2,500 people working for it in India, including those in the BPO unit. Media reports have hinted that the company had asked a section of its BPO staff to quit.