The university had previously said it had to take action to address a £30m black hole in its budget with the pressure of increased costs and falling international student numbers affecting the whole higher education sector.

An offer of voluntary severance between June and September 2024 was taken up and approved for 155 staff and a second round closed earlier this month.

But the latest announcement is set to go further with staff fearing that “hundreds” more jobs will go from the 7,000 strong workforce.

Refusing to rule out compulsory redundancies, Vice-Chancellor Wendy Larner said in the autumn that the university would develop new sources of income and different ways of delivering courses as well as looking at usage of the university’s buildings.

She said the university would also be looking for international partnerships and in December 2024 it announced that there were discussions about opening its first overseas branch in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

Staff in departments across the university have received invitations to meetings to discuss “academic futures”.

One email said: “I appreciate that a meeting of this kind will cause anxiety” referring staff to an Employee Assistance Programme for support, should they need it.

Speaking on BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, Estelle Hart from UCU Cymru said management at Cardiff University had “caused speculation by not communicating”.

“I think it’s fair to say the sector’s in crisis but what we’ve seen in Cardiff is a real lack of engagement with alternatives from the management.

“Sending emails out inviting people to meetings seemingly without any pre-warning is going to cause such anxiety.”

Large scale “town hall” meetings are also planned for this week.

A Cardiff University spokesperson said: “We do not comment on speculation or anonymous claims. If any changes are proposed, then our staff and students will be first to be informed”.

“We will not be offering further comment, at this stage,” the spokesperson added.

The Welsh government has said that university tuition fees will rise to £9,535 a year from September 2025, in line with an increase in fees for English universities announced by the UK government.