Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group announced that it will cut 4,300 positions across its airlines due to a lack of demand caused by the global coronavirus pandemic.

However, it says that after taking into account a recruitment freeze, natural attrition and the take up of voluntary departure schemes, the potential number of staff impacted will be reduced to about 2,400 in Singapore and in overseas stations on its airlines Singapore Airlines, SilkAir and Scoot.

In a statement, the group said that it expects to operate under 50 per cent of its capacity at the end of financial year 2020/21 versus pre-Covid levels. Industry groups have also forecast that passenger traffic will not return to previous levels until around 2024.

Singapore Airlines, chief executive officer, Goh Choon Phong, said: “When the battle against Covid-19 began early this year, none of us could have predicted its devastating impact on the global aviation industry. From the outset, our priorities were to ensure our survival and save as many jobs as possible. Given that the road to recovery will be long and fraught with uncertainty, we have to unfortunately implement involuntary staff reduction measures.

“Having to let go of our valuable and dedicated people is the hardest and most agonising decision that I have had to make in my 30 years with SIA. This is not a reflection of the strengths and capabilities of those who will be affected but the result of an unprecedented global crisis that has engulfed the airline industry.

“The next few weeks will be some of the toughest in the history of the SIA Group as some of our friends and colleagues leave the company. We will conduct this process in a fair and respectful manner and do our best to ensure that they receive all the necessary support during this very trying time.”

Relative to most major airlines in the world, the SIA Group says that it is in “an even more vulnerable position” as it does not have a domestic market that will be the first to see a recovery. In order to remain viable in this uncertain landscape, the group’s airlines will operate a smaller fleet for a reduced network compared to their pre-Covid operations in the coming years.

To prepare for this future, the Group needs to cut around 4,300 positions across . This has been mitigated by a recruitment freeze that was implemented in March 2020, open vacancies that were not filled, an early retirement scheme for ground staff and pilots and a voluntary release scheme for cabin crew. Collectively, these measures have allowed the Group to eliminate some 1,900 positions.