They said they would hire short-term contractors if necessary to replace the departing staff members.
Over time it has steadily reduced the ranks of its short-term contractors and pressured its suppliers to decrease prices.
"We will be releasing up to 300 people, primarily fixed-term contractors, by the end of the year," it said.
"We are concerned that the department is falling behind plans to recruit adequately skilled and experienced staff to work in these countries and is using instead short-term contractors," said the report.
MPs said delays in appointing frontline staff to manage DfiD's expanding programmes, particularly in countries considered to be "fragile" or "conflict-affected", pose additional risks to UK aid projects as the department brings in more short-term contractors to fill the gaps.
By 1997 the position had reversed, and 10 years later we can see the benefits: for workers, a series of new rights - many of which I introduced - covering pay, holidays, grievance procedures, maternity leave, protection for short-term contractors and redress against all shades of discrimination.
It seems like half the coders I know, or work with in my day job, are short-term contractors — often with their own startup fermenting on the side.
Although it may seem like a disadvantage, it has an upside: Highly valued long-term contractors are often offered permanent employment at client companies after, or during, their contract period.
The case involved two long-term contractors at a unit of Fidelity Investments, the nation's largest mutual fund company, who complained they were dismissed after revealing that the investment firm was inflating its expenses.
Replacements are paid much less than journalists who retire or die, said a 20-year veteran who declined to be identified, adding that temporary hires and short-term contractors were becoming more frequent.
