FORTY of the 220 pilots employed to Air Jamaica are set to lose their jobs over the next two months as the national airline continues to trim its staff as part of a cost-cutting plan at the debt-strapped company. At the same time, the airline announced yesterday that its board was in the process of completing its assessment and restructuring planning and expects to recommend a "new overall structure and strategy" to government shortly. According to the airline, yesterday's job cuts were as a result of the cutting of some of its routes and the reduction on the frequency of flights on others. But the announcement came despite the fact that both the airline and the Jamaica Airline Pilots Association (JALPA) are yet to reach an agreement on salary negotiations. The airline said it had notified the affected pilots, 17 of whom were employed on contract, and that the redundancies would be carried out in full accordance with the existing labour agreement with JALPA. It said that all payments, including redundancy packages, would be paid to the affected pilots in accordance with the law. The pilots' contracts of employment, the airline said, will be terminated utilising the 'last in, first out' principle. Yesterday's announcement by Air Jamaica came nearly three months after the airline slashed 200 staff members, including 100 of its 500 flight attendants in January as part of broad-based cost-cutting measures to return to profitability. Aside from the trimming of its pilots and flight attendants, several management positions were also made redundant, while the salaries of top managers were cut. The airline also cut flights to several routes and returned at least three of its leased aircraft. Reprinted from jamaicaobserver.com