More than 400 Bear executives - seething, fearful and to their dismay, far poorer than they were a week ago - were waiting for him.

Only days after his controversial government-backed deal for the beleaguered investment bank stunned Wall Street, Dimon, the chairman and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, made an appearance at Bear Stearns, hoping to win over executives who have vowed to fight his offer. Dimon left many of them as angry and resentful as he found them.

''I don't think Bear did anything to deserve this,'' Dimon said. ''Our hearts go out to you.

''No one on Wall Street could have anticipated this. I feel terrible sometimes when people think we took advantage. I don't think we could possibly know what you all are feeling, but I hope that you give JPMorgan a chance.''

Over the next 45 minutes, Dimon made it clear that he hoped to retain the best employees at Bear but also made it plain that many of Bear's 14,000 employees will lose their jobs as a result of the deal, struck at the urging of the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department to avoid a run on the bank. JPMorgan executives plan to cull one Bear employee after another, while keeping the best performers, as they move to integrate the two firms.

Many of the executives Dimon faced, all of whom own Bear shares that have sunk from highs of $170 just a year ago, pledged to fight the deal in hopes of luring a better offer from a rival bank, a prospect that, for now, seems distant. Even so, Joseph Lewis, the largest shareholder of Bear, said in a securities filing last Wednesday that he would take ''whatever action'' necessary to protect his stake, including seeking out another suitor.

''In this room are people who have built this firm and lost a lot, our fortunes,'' one Bear executive said to Dimon with anger in his voice. ''What will you do to make us whole?''

The packed room of senior managing directors applauded.

Dimon responded gingerly. ''You're acting like it's our fault, and it's not. If you stay we will make you happy.''

But the Bear employee was not satisfied. ''I think it's galling you come into our house and you call this a 'merger.' "

This time, Dimon was silent.

But Dimon, ruddy-faced and sharply dressed in a light blue tie and white shirt, told the executives that those of them who stay might receive at least 25 percent of the value of their recent Bear stock awards in the form of JPMorgan shares. Those who stay until the deal closes will receive a one-time cash payment. Dimon urged them not to blame Bear's management, the government or JPMorgan for their circumstances, although someone surely is accountable for the risky bets on securities tied to subprime mortgages that crippled the Bear.

Alan Schwartz, Bear's CEO, looking pale, summed it up. ''We here are a collective victim of violence,'' he said, his voice cracking. ''It's natural to be angry, and you're not sure who to be angry at. But we have to put it behind us.''

A few Bear executives urged colleagues to accept Dimon's offer.

''I've been here for more than 20 years,'' one said. ''This deal cost me big time. But if there wasn't a deal, we'd be toast.''

Since the deal was reached about a week ago, JPMorgan executives have tried to characterize the situation at Bear as business as usual. It is, however, anything but.

Inside Bear, once one of the world's largest and most storied investment banks, it is already clear that the new bosses have arrived. JPMorgan executives have appropriated offices for private meetings and begun placing calls from the desks of Bear executives.

JPMorgan bankers are already calling most of shots on Bear's trading floor. Some Bear executives remained in charge of the risks the traders were taking.

Last week Dimon kicked off a call with Bear's brokers, telling them how his grandfather and father were brokers and that he was confident that the merged firm would be a formidable force on Wall Street.

''I have broker's blood in my veins,'' one Bear employee recalls Dimon saying, adding that many of the brokers seemed inspired by what they heard.

JPMorgan executives also met with their own employees.

Steven Black and William Winters, co-heads of investment banking, talked to JPMorgan's top 200 bankers. Executives then addressed the rank and file in JPMorgan's cafeteria.

In the past, JPMorgan has often struggled to integrate companies it has acquired. But that changed with the arrival of Dimon, who joined the bank as part of its merger with Bank One in 2004. From the start, he focused on stitching together its disparate businesses and wringing out costs.

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* AP contributed to this story.