Fears are growing that up to 500 jobs are under threat due to major restructuring at Waterford Wedgwood.
Senior union officials have been in talks with management on the restructuring proposals.
Company sources said the main focus was on saving as many jobs as possible at its plant in the Waterford and they suggested that about 500 of the 900 positions could be guaranteed.
ATGWU regional organiser Walter Cullen
Unions have been given a list of 393 proposed job cuts and the departments that will be effected and are discussing these proposals with the company's management.
ATGWU branch chairman Pat Fitzgerald said he was resigned to the fact that there could be up to 500 redundancies.
"How to resolve that reality is now a problem for the negotiators," he said.
However, regional industrial organiser Walter Cullen stressed no formal announcement had yet been made, adding he was still awaiting the company's plan on the future of the plant.
He said the objective now was to get the company to maximise the number of jobs that can be maintained through a comprehensive and credible plan.
"We believe Waterford Crystal is a viable and profitable company and that can be achieved by maintaining jobs in Waterford," he said.
"But we are also saying that if there is restructuring and redundancies they can only be on a voluntary basis on terms acceptable by our members and under no circumstances will they be accepted on a compulsory basis."
The negotiations on the latest restructuring plan began in late afternoon and the parties are due to meet again next week.
The slump in the US dollar, changing consumer tastes and increased competition from Asia are said to be impacting on the company's profitability.
The firm is seeking to raise around €50 million from a major investor to finance the restructuring, while chairman Sir Anthony O'Reilly and his brother-in-law Peter Goulandris would invest a further €17 million.
At the group's AGM earlier this month, Mr O'Reilly said this new money would be used for the final root-and-branch restructuring of the business.
"We must, where possible, and cognisant of our heritage and brands, significantly reduce our manufacturing costs," he said.
"The restructuring measures must be achieved before the end of the current fiscal year."
This year is the fifth in a row the company has sold off shares as it seeks to secure finance to keep the business afloat.
Just over two years ago the company announced the closure of its flagship factory in Dungarvan, Co Waterford, with the loss of almost 500 jobs.
Waterford Wedgwood has issued more than €400 million in new shares since 2003 to fund redundancies, plant closures and other restructuring costs.
Last weekend, a Sunday newspaper reported that Waterford Wedgwood was poised to strike a major deal with the Ljubljana-based glass manufacturer, Steklarna Rogaska, in Slovenia, which could end up producing as much as 60 per cent of Waterford's crystal production.