In addition to the NCR cuts, a further 595 jobs associated with companies that supply the US-owned manufacturer may well be lost.

The financial fall-out from these lost pay packets is expected to see another 161 jobs go in the local retail and entertainment sectors.

Neil McGregor, director of the Abertay research unit, said the figures were very high, but had been calculated according to a formula employed by the likes of councils, Scottish Enterprise and the Executive.

He said, “The impact on the local economy will run into potentially millions of pounds.”

Already, one of NCR’s Dundee suppliers, DS Smith, has shut its packaging operation with the loss of 16 jobs. The company said the impending loss of work meant it was no longer financially viable for it to remain open in the city.

And cleaning company Scotia Clean Teck, which employs 330 cleaners at Wester Gourdie, is bracing itself for a marked reduction in its workload.

SET’s director of business growth, Jill Farrell, said a lot of work was being done by the Rapid Response Group to identify those companies dependent on NCR and ensure employees who may be facing redundancy are given maximum help.

The Partnership Action for Continuing Employment team will be working with NCR’s suppliers and the US firm is already trying to identify opportunities for these supply companies to forge new relationships with its overseas factories in Hungary and China.

Ms Farrell said the RRG was also looking to identify new opportunities for the supply companies in Dundee and Tayside to relieve the effects of the NCR cuts.

She added, “We don’t want to stop other investors coming into Dundee and its very important the image of the city is that it is still very much open for business.”

Meanwhile, the Executive has said the cash aid it provides will be “whatever is required”.

The Executive revealed special arrangements designed to help those affected by job cuts swing into action whenever around 50 redundancies occur.

Such arrangements were put in place on the day the NCR announcement was made.

An Executive spokesman said, “Because of the scale of the redundancies in Dundee, the Enterprise Minister was keen to see how those arrangements would operate and keen to secure Executive involvement.

“He was also keen the ‘team’ be augmented by a chair who had a profile and local credibility, hence the appointment of the Rev Erik Cramb.

“Additional funding will be made available if necessary and will be whatever is required to offer the best possible support for the affected workers.

“It is not a question of whether less funding would have been available without the additional expertise of the Rapid Response Group but rather, as in all cases, the necessary support will cost what it costs.

“But local agencies are best placed to make those judgements based on their considerable experience of their local area, economy and labour market.”

Some of the 300 Tesco workers whose jobs will be lost at the company’s Dundee distribution depot when it closes in the summer and relocates to Livingston have questioned whether the same efforts were made for them following their redundancy announcement last year.

The Executive spokesman said, “Those affected have been offered a similar level of support into new jobs or training as is in hand at NCR. At Tesco, the Pace arrangements have been in place since the job losses were announced.

“The cost of Pace arrangements aren’t generally costed as such — largely because operating the arrangements, if they are needed, is part of the Pace Partner organisations' normal business.”