UTV understands that up to 50 jobs in east Belfast and Omagh are at risk after drinks manufacturer C&C announced its local distribution contract with Britvic will be terminated at the end of April.
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Britvic currently employs 139 people in east Belfast and 17 in Omagh.
In a statement, the company said C&C was reviewing its local distribution network following its recent acquisition of Tennents.
"Termination of the contract will impact the scale of Britvic Northern Ireland's operations and is likely to result in job losses across our logistics function," the statement continued.
The company said a consultation process with staff was now underway.
"This is extremely sad for families that could be affected and my thoughts are with all those who face tough times in this difficult economic climate", east Belfast Alliance MLA Naomi Long said.
"We are extremely concerned about the impact of these potential job losses, particularly following on from the devastating news about Hughes Christensen, which is located just down the road from C&C," she added.
In January, around 210 workers at the Hughes Christensen drill bit factory in east Belfast were made redundant.
PUP leader and east Belfast MLA Dawn Purvis said job losses "have hit the community hard".
"Britvic are a strong brand in their own right and I hope they can now concentrate on growing their own business in Northern Ireland," Dawn Purvis said.
"People are looking to political leaders and government to halt this slide - we must do all we can to protect local businesses and the local jobs which depend on them."
First Minister Peter Robinson has urged the company to do all that it can to minimise the number of redundancies and to provide the most generous package possible.
"I can assure the people of east Belfast that I will work tirelessly to attract investments into the area for those employees affected", the DUP east Belfast MP said.
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