CB Richard Ellis Group Inc, the world's biggest commercial property brokerage, said it has eliminated some staff as it confronts a rise in office vacancies and a falloff in sales of commercial buildings.

"In light of the market weakness this year, we have been focused on cost containment in all aspects of our business," said CBRE spokesman Robert McGrath. "Unfortunately our efforts have included modest head count reductions."

The Baltimore Business Journal and the Cincinnati Business Courier earlier reported that Los Angeles-based CBRE had cut jobs in those cities, Bloomberg News reported. The Baltimore story said John Blumer, managing director of that city's CBRE office, was fired, and that about 200 workers had been dismissed. The Cincinnati story said three people had been let go in that office. The company is due to report earnings in late October.