Commercial firms cut pay

To expand the firm and avoid laying off brokers, the 10 equity partners of Newmark Knight Frank are giving an increased portion of their commissions to the firm, and the top three partners — Barry Gosin, Jeff Gural and Jim Kuhn, who own 75 percent of Newmark — will go unpaid this year. A source at CB Richard Ellis told the Observer that it is considering taking similar measures. And at Cushman & Wakefield, bonuses are now harder to attain. If a broker passes a certain dollar threshold on a commission, he or she gets to keep 55 or 60 percent of the commission, instead of the normal 50-50 split. But Cushman has raised the dollar threshold to get an increased commission.