CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Pension giant TIAA-CREF laid off 158 employees this week at its Charlotte office, a spokeswoman said today.

The cuts amount to about 6 percent of the more than 2,800 employees at the University area campus. TIAA-CREF made the move to improve efficiency and control costs, spokeswoman Jennifer Compton said.

Charlotte is the largest employee site for the New York-based provider of retirement services for customers in academic, medical, cultural and research fields. “We continue to view Charlotte as an important location for TIAA-CREF,” Compton said.

TIAA-CREF has about 7,800 employees nationwide. It also eliminated 70 jobs at its Denver location, which has a workforce of more than 2,000, Compton said.

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