The staff at Belfast's Lyric Theatre are bracing themselves for possible redundancies.
The management of the North's only full-time producing theatre has informed the 30 staff members in writing that financial savings must be made, in order to ensure necessary restructuring of its operation.
"No redundancy notices will be issued until talks with the trade unions have taken place," said Lyric chairman David Johnston. "This is not a sudden crisis, rather an ongoing process. We have been looking at staffing structures over the past number of months, with a view to maximising the theatre's efficiency and effectiveness.
"Funding is always a difficulty for the arts and while I don't want to be critical of the Arts Council [of Northern Ireland], in comparison with theatres across the water, we are poorly funded," Mr Johnston added.