Christie's International PLC, the world's largest auctioneer, says it is making "significant" job cuts in its bid to stay profitable during the art-market slowdown.

The closely held company, based in London, is firing an undisclosed number of salaried employees within its 2,100-member work force in coming weeks, according to an email sent to staff yesterday by chief executive Ed Dolman. Contracts also won't be renewed this year for many of its art consultants and freelance workers.

"We need to reshape our business to ensure that we emerge from these challenging times as a stronger company," Mr. Dolman wrote.

As art prices fall around the world, Christie's says it will cut jobs throughout its 85 global offices and 14 salesrooms, including art hubs like New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris.

The majority of people who will be fired will be informed during the next two weeks, and the company hopes to complete its staff restructuring by March or April, Christie's says. Several employees who spoke on condition of anonymity said they weren't surprised by the cuts, given the worsening economy.

Christie's is struggling in the wake of a dramatic drop in global art sales in recent months. The company auctioned $3.1 billion worth of art during the first six months of 2008 but only auctioned about half as much during the remainder of the year. Christie's plans to divulge its full-year sales results later this month.

The company has already enacted several cost-cutting measures, such as lowering some of its price estimates by at least 10% and offering sellers few guarantees. With a guarantee, an auction house promises to buy an artwork if it doesn't sell at auction. During the last round of major art auctions in November, Christie's and its chief rival New York-based Sotheby's had an estimated $63 million of combined losses from guaranteed artworks that went unsold.

Sotheby's last month cut $7 million from its salary budget by laying off an undisclosed number of people from its 1,555-member work force, primarily from its North American offices.