CME Group cuts 3 percent of employees in another round of reductions

CHICAGO (Reuters) - CME Group Inc (NYSE: CME) has eliminated about 3 percent of its employees in the second significant round of job cuts in less than a year at the world's largest futures exchange operator.

Chicago-based CME eliminated about 80 workers on Aug. 6, with about half of the jobs coming from its technology sector, spokeswoman Laurie Bischel said on Tuesday. The rest of the reductions were spread among other functions, she said.

The cuts were part of a "restructuring announced last fall designed to eliminate bureaucracy and improve our ability to serve our global client base more efficiently," Bischel said.

In October, CME, which has been on a cost-savings drive, said it would cut 5 percent of its global workforce, or about 150 jobs.

And last month, CME closed most of its open-outcry futures pits in Chicago and New York.

The company has no more dismissals to announce at this time, Bischel added.

CME expenses in the quarter ended on June 30 were $324.9 million, up 2 percent from a year earlier. They were $660.3 million in six months ended on June 30, up 3 percent from the same period a year earlier.

As of Dec. 31, CME had approximately 2,680 employees, according to a regulatory filing.

(Reporting by Tom Polansek; Editing by Alan Crosby)

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