Singapore Airlines (SIA) is letting go of 76 expatriate pilots, who are currently on three-year contracts, to reduce excess manpower amid a business slowdown. The captains are expected to leave the company by the end of June, SIA said on Wednesday in an announcement on SGX.

A few months ago, the airline stopped renewing the contracts when they expired but a decision has now been made to terminate the agreements earlier, the carrier said.

SIA said the current surplus of pilots is a result of excess capacity and slower than expected growth following the 2008 global financial crisis.

The airline had earlier implemented other measures to address the surplus, such as voluntary no-pay leave and the suspension of cadet pilot recruitment. Pilots employed on fixed-term contracts make up about 4 per cent of SIA's total pilot pool.