Talks got underway today on more than 50 potential redundancies at a building materials supplier in the North.
Brett Martin, at Mallusk, Co Antrim, has warned the 400 workers at the plant that up to 52 could lose their jobs.
The firm also has plants in England, Scotland and the Netherlands, but as yet jobs there are not under threat, said the company.
It is a major supplier of polycarbon and plastic materials to the construction industry and blamed a reduced order book on the economic climate which it said looked likely to remain challenging.
Michael Mulholland, of the GMB union, said after the talks: "Brett Martin is another company badly affected by the current economic climate and the impact it is having on the level of activity in the building industry across the UK."
He said during the consultation period, the union would seek to minimise the number of jobs lost.