US financial services company Principal Financial Group has cut 75 employees from its asset management division, Principal Global Investors, according to media reports.

Most were in the firm’s Des Moines, Iowa, headquarters.

The firm cut 550 people across the company in December 2008 followed by salary reductions between 2 and 10 per cent.

“Market conditions continue to create pressure and challenges for all asset managers, including Principal Global Investors,” the firm said in a statement.

Principal Financial employs 15,000 people worldwide. It recently reported net income available to common stockholders for the three months ended March 2009 of $112.8 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, compared to $174.2 million, or $0.67 per diluted share for the same quarter in 2008.