Private air service NetJets Inc. says it will lay off up to 495 pilots nationwide because of a decrease in demand.

NetJets, which caters to companies and business executives, made the announcement Thursday. Chairman and CEO David Sokol said the decision was based on a comprehensive analysis of current and projected flight demand.

The layoffs will take effect Jan. 15. The company employs more than 3,000 pilots worldwide, with most of them in the U.S.

Spokesman Ted Lowen said about 100 of the furloughed pilots are from central Ohio.

NetJets is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, which has been the base of its flight operations since the company began in 1964.

The company also has operations in New Jersey and South Carolina.

NetJets is a unit of investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., based in Omaha, Neb.