CBRE cuts staff in New York

In response to market conditions, global commercial real estate giant CB Richard Ellis has made staff cuts in New York City, and the company, along with its competitor Cushman and Wakefield, is making cuts nationwide, according to spokesmen from both organizations.

“We have been in a cost- ontainment mode all year, and as part of that had a modest head count reduction nationally. In terms of New York, those reductions have been minimal,” the CBRE spokesman said. In response to a question about the timing of the cuts, he said they were made within the past month. CBRE has 29,000 employees worldwide as of 2007, according to the company Web site. Asked whether the company was planning to make more staff reductions, he declined to speculate.

At Cushman and Wakefield, a spokesman declined to confirm the details of yesterday’s report that said 200 jobs were eliminated at the firm, in a company that has a worldwide staff of approximately 15,000 employees.

“I can confirm that we are implementing a small percentage of job reductions. I can tell you in some markets we are reducing and in some markets we continue to add staff,” the Cushman spokesman said. Asked if more cuts were expected, he said “not at this time.”

The cuts follow news that commercial brokerage Massey Knakal Realty Services had reduced its staff by about 25 percent.

Real estate insiders said they expect layoffs at other firms to come.