TOM/FCA had various options to reduce numbers.
Part-time working (3 weeks on/3 weeks off), part-year working (full time for 4/5 months in summer, part time in winter - 75%, 50% or 0% in winter), career breaks, unpaid leave in winter (but still got paid 33%), and the latest was that we had nearly 150 too many pilots. We introduced (well, BALPA working with the company did) a scheme whereby we kept the extra pilots, and the cost of them was split 50/50 with the company. We all took a pay cut of around £100 a month which reduced if those pilots were used (not specifically individuals but if the number of pilots needed for the roster used the extras). We actually ended up with a surplus of only around 30. We all got extra days off each month. The number of days off each pilot was to have each calendar month was specified. The agreement had specific and regular review points (company/ BALPA CC/ rostering dept would meet).
We also had a voluntary redundancy scheme which was taken up by quite a few and the company has been looking at secondments.