Around 500 jobs could be cut in the UK by car giant Ford as part of a restructuring of its operations.
The American manufacturer said it will cut 7,000 white-collar jobs globally - about 10% of its salaried workforce.
Management posts will be cut by a fifth.
Unite trade union said it had been assured any redundancies in the UK would be voluntary.
A Ford spokesman said: "Globally we expect there to be about 900 separations this week. We are still working through the final wave of the redesign, but we expect that by the end of the process we will have eliminated about 7,000 salaried positions or about 10% of global salaried workforce, with about a 20% reduction to management positions.
"Initiatives are expected to reduce in excess of 5,000 jobs in Germany, including hourly, salaried and temporary staff. The total number of positions impacted in the UK is still to be determined."
It is understood that between 500 and 550 jobs could be affected in the UK.
A Unite spokesman said: "We have been in dialogue with the company but we are not aware of any figures for redundancies in the UK.
"We have had assurances that any redundancies will be on a voluntary basis."
