American Airlines, the world's second-biggest carrier, said Friday it will lay off 175 pilots in the first half of this year due to capacity cuts and fewer retirements.

Eighty pilots will lose their jobs at the end of February and a second round of layoffs could be in the spring, American spokeswoman Missy Latham said in a statement.

"This was a painful but necessary decision, " said Latham, who said the move will "better align the size of our pilot organization with the size of our current operation."

The airline reduced capacity by 7.2 percent in 2009 as the industry struggled with a downturn in travel resulting from the recession.

The Texas-based company's parent, AMR Corp., this week reported a US$344 million net loss in the fourth quarter of 2009. AMR has lost 3.59 billion in the last two years.