A quarter of the 4,300-strong Southampton City Council workforce could be sacked under spending plans.
The claim by unions comes as port health officers prepare to go out on strike later.Council bosses are in a dispute with staff over pay and conditions that has already seen refuse collectors strike.
Previously, authority leader Royston Smith said he was "disappointed" action was being taken as attempts to resolve the situation were ongoing.
Now however, Unite union bosses have described as "devastating" a new internal council report that outlines plans to set aside £5m annually, between 2012-14, for redundancies.
The union claims the report indicates plans for redundancies will increase year-on-year, with 361 posts going next year, rising to 725 by 2013 to a total of 1,224 in 2014.
'Deliberately misled' They also fear the authority will announce worse pay and conditions for staff, as the dispute enters its sixth week.
"Now we have the facts - they plan to sack more than a quarter of the workforce by 2014 and spend £15m of taxpayers' money doing so," said Ian Woodland, Unite's regional officer.
"This is a disgrace and will devastate those loyal workers who thought that by making a wage sacrifice now that they had a chance to save their jobs for the future."
He also accused the Tory-led council of "deliberately misleading" the public into believing essential services were safe.
"Who on earth will be there to provide them if more than a quarter of the workforce has been sacked?" he said.
He argued council leaders should have been consulting unions over the plans much earlier and would now seek "urgent talks" with bosses.
Workers are expected to march through the city on Wednesday, to stage a protest outside a meeting of the full council.
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