Around 700 jobs are to be lost at Caterpillar in Northern Ireland.
The US manufacturing firm made the announcement this morning during a meeting with management.
It represents around 50 per cent of the workforce.
The cuts will affect workers at its plant in Larne and will leave around 900 employees in Northern Ireland.
The jobs will be shed over the next 12 to 18 months.
And Sainsbury’s has announced 3,500 job losses, mainly from the Argos chain it took over four years ago.
Over 400 Argos stores are set to close by 2024.
Jobs are also set to be cut in the supermarkets with the closure of the delicatessen and fish and meat counters.
The company said it made a £137m loss due to closures and changes in the market.
John Lewis also announced a further 1,500 job losses on Wednesday.