He feared course reductions could harm links between the university and city. He also said staff believed redundancies could total well over 100, although this was denied by a university spokesman who said losses would be ‘significantly less’ than 100.

Sir Alan Langlands, principal and vice-chancellor, has admitted it is “almost impossible” to say at this stage what the exact number of redundancies will be.

It is known town and regional planning, modern languages and community education are set to be scaled back and there will be staffing reductions linked to improved planning across all disciplines.

There are also expected to be what are officially described as “significant cost reductions and efficiency improvements” affecting the library, the estates service and research and innovation services.

The university is also planning to increase its income from sources such as overseas students and post-graduate courses as it tries to turn a 1% budget deficit into a 3% surplus by 2010-11.

That will mean a change in the difference between spending and income totalling £6.85 million.

Details of the proposals, which will go before the university court next month, began being circulated among university staff yesterday.

The UCU spokesman said, “This financial crisis derives from the over-ambitious building programme. All of this could be resolved very simply by the rescheduling of loan repayments, extending them by two or three years.”

Noting the university’s statement about the scale of job losses, the spokesman said, “We expect there to be over 100 redundancies. We will be looking for them to put a figure on it.”

He said the official figures showed savings of £4.3 million being required and added, “What do they think £4.3 million looks like in terms of jobs?”

The UCU is planning to ask management to disclose full financial details as the proposals are discussed at a series of internal committee meetings over the next few weeks.

But the spokesman stressed members were totally opposed to the cuts.

He said, “We want them to abandon this project immediately and open up a serious dialogue about university finances.

“Most of the cuts are in what might be termed outreach programmes that link the university and the city, such as community education, continuing education and languages.

“These changes will sever that link with the city and its people. Everybody in Dundee should be concerned about that.”

Sir Alan has promised that every effort would be made to keep staff informed, consult with trade unions and try to minimise the effects on the workforce.

He recognised the proposals would be a source of “concern and anxiety” but he insisted that while change was necessary, it would not be a rush job. He added that it may be possible to tackle some of the job cuts through redeployment of staff or by early retirement.

“We are trying to be as responsible as we can towards our staff. The other imperative is to ensure that the students are not affected in any way,” he said.

Sir Alan said investment in the campus infrastructure was vital to attracting staff and students. One example was the Sir James Black medical research centre, which had attracted grants totalling about £30 million, some of which would not have come to Dundee without a new building.

He added that the sustainability review group had also identified a need to maintain existing buildings properly.

Although job losses in some areas were inevitable, the university is planning to continue adding staff in other areas where it is stronger, such as civil engineering and life sciences. Sir Alan added it was possible that by 2010 there would be more staff than at present.