Crisis talks will be held between council leaders and community groups this week to identify ways to cut millions from the budget.
Aberdeen City Council could be facing cuts of nearly £45million for the coming financial year.
Although councillors have been told not to disclose figures before they are revealed to the London Stock Exchange, the dire forecast was revealed at a community council meeting last week by the administration’s Marie Boulton.
Options are now being prepared ahead of budget meeting on March 5, following decreasing government grant funding and a rise in ring-fenced obligations.
Last night, council co-leader Douglas Lumsden remained tight-lipped about the details of the savings, but admitted they would be “substantial”.
He said: “There is nothing specifically we are looking at this stage but we are looking at all possible savings.
“We have a budget summit with all the partners we give funding to on Friday and try to find a solution.
“We are committed to our no compulsory redundancies policy but there is of course voluntary redundancy and early retirement packages.
“There is no doubt there is a substantial amount of savings we have to make.”
Unite’s north-east regional representative Tommy Campbell warned that council services would likely be affected.
>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter
He said: “These cuts could have a devastating impact on public services and will unfortunately risk the level of services the people of Aberdeen deserve.
“Enough staff have lost their jobs already and there cannot be any more cuts from staff if the council is to deliver the same level of services.”
The council’s controversial restructuring, began last year, aims to save the authority around £125million in five years.
Long-term, moving more council services online, voluntary redundancy of staff and potentially selling off council assets have all been suggested.
Paul O’Connor, manager of the Inchgarth community centre, said any reduction in their budget would be “cataclysmic”.
He said: “We only receive £11,000 a year which just about cleans the building. The services we provide are worth millions to the council and I would question their spending priorities when they are making these cuts.”
Mrs Boulton, part of the Conservative, Labour and Independent administration, made the £45million revelation at the Cults, Bieldside and Milltimber Community Council on Thursday.
Councillors had issued with legal advice not to disclose the cuts figure before it is revealed to the City of London, due to the authority’s obligation with the £370million bond issue in 2016.
