The boss of Helicopter operator CHC said the company has been forced to cut staff since last year as work from oil companies has dwindled amid the global price decline.
Arne Roland was speaking at a conference in Norway when he made the comments in what he described as a “period of change” for the industry.
He said in 2015 CHC had 495 employees but has now had to cut that down to 377 staff members.
Roland said the job losses were “brutal” with younger members of the company being made redundant first, leading to fewer workers in lower age groups.
He said last year CHC had a total of 51 helicopters on the Norwegian Continental Shelf with 38 currently in use.
Next year, the number of helicopters is expected to be around 31 or less equating to a 40% reduction of the fleet since 2015.
Earlier, it was revealed North Sea flight hours are up 50% for S-92s since the Norwegian helicopter crash.
