Fred Olsen-owned shiprepairer Harland & Wolff is looking to lay off up to 60 workers.
This constitutes about a third of the Belfast yard’s staff, the BBC reported.
It is blaming the decision on a downturn in the oil and gas sector.
The Irish News said management will try to seek voluntary redundancies at first.
The GMB and Unite unions have pledged to work with the company to minimise the impact on workers.
