Student leaders and business chiefs have voiced concern at the impact of 2,000 college places being lost in Angus.
Lecturers and support staff are facing redundancy at Angus College after principal John Burt revealed funding cuts from the Scottish Government will cripple the facility over the next four years.
Jobs are set to go across Scotland as spending for colleges falls 13.5% in cash terms over the next three years, on top of a cut of 10.3% already in place.
Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce (DACC) is seeking clarification from Holyrood on the level of budget reductions affecting the sector.
Chief executive Alan Mitchell said: “DACC will be writing to the Scottish Government expressing its grave reservations about the potential economic impact of the FE cuts announced in the recent budget.
“The cuts planned in the college sector seem disproportionately large in comparison to other parts of the public sector.
“Having access to a skilled workforce is critical to the long-term success of local firms, and this could be compromised by the planned college funding cuts.
“We can see no rationale for this scale of cuts at a time when the Scottish Government is saying that growing the economy in a sustainable manner is its number one priority.
“Cutting back on skills provision will threaten the very sustainable economic growth the government says it wants.
“Angus College, along with Dundee College, is a very efficient and well managed institution and when John Burt makes statements like he has in this case, he needs to be taken seriously.”
The NUS Scotland president Robin Parker urged the SNP to “explore every option available” to find additional funding. He added: “The SNP’s election manifesto pledged to protect college places, and every single SNP candidate ahead of the election committed directly to students that places would be maintained.
“It is therefore extremely worrying that a second straight year of massive funding cuts is forcing colleges to contemplate cuts to student places, courses and lecturers, and a reduction of student support.
“The Scottish Government is quite rightly committing to give every 16 to 19-year-old the opportunity to be in education or employment.
“However, this massive cut to college funding, which comes at a time when we need to be investing more in our communities, not less, could be incredibly damaging.”
Montrose councillor David May met members of DACC to discuss the impact of the “huge cuts” in Angus and at Dundee College.
He said, “I am very concerned about a similar level of massive cuts at Angus College and will be meeting the college principal about it. It is vital that these college budget cuts are reviewed and decreased.
“Otherwise, we are cutting the opportunities available to our young people.”
Mr Burt has written to Labour North East MSP Richard Baker to outline the implications of the reduction that is likely to see 400 full-time places and 1,600 part-time places lost.
Staff wages at Angus College will continue to be frozen until 2015, and the college’s Learning Centre network in outlying areas of Angus could be threatened with closure.
The Scottish Funding Council has a £1.5bn budget for the academic year, which began in August, comprising £956m for universities and £528m for colleges.