It's been a tough week for those connected with Swansea City.

The club have made little secret of the financial cost of relegation from the Premier League, but the announcement of possible job losses will still come as a devastating blow.

There have been a lot of rumours flying around ever since the news broke, many of which are wide of the mark, although there certainly are a number of questions that still need to be answered.

In the mean time, here's everything we know so far...

How many employees are affected?

That's a question that is more or less impossible to answer at this stage. It's even possible that the owners themselves don't know for sure, although they will of course have an idea on how much will need to be saved from a financial point of view.

Sources close to the club's hierarchy have played down fears of a mass clearout of staff, stressing that the terms of employment law dictate that everyone is made aware of the current consultation process.

The club is hoping that savings can be made from voluntary redundancies, but could yet explore a number of other ideas, including the cutting of staff across a number of different departments.

It's understood these plans have been considered since relegation from the Premier League, although the hierarchy were keen to wait to see how the team would perform in the Championship.

Now, with promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking looking highly unlikely, those plans are now being put into action.

Swansea boss Graham Potter and his coaching staff are definitely safe from the upcoming round of potential job losses

Is anyone definitely safe?

As previously reported, players and members of the first-team coaching staff are not believed to be affected.

Nevertheless, there are likely to be further cost-cutting measures in the upcoming summer transfer window.

The likes of Wilfried Bony and Luciano Narsingh are set to be allowed to run down their current deals, while Borja Baston and the Ayew brothers are all likely to be sold.

It remains to be seen if the club will be tempted by a big-money move for Daniel James, who very nearly joined Leeds United in the last window, with the winger currently negotiating a new deal with the club.

Leroy Fer and Mike van der Hoorn are similarly locked in contract talks, and question marks over their respective futures are unlikely to shift until they put pen to paper.

Having seen a host of departures in the last two transfer windows with little in the way of replacements, news of redundancies to staff will likely heighten fears that that the club's recruitment policy will once again take another turn for the worse.

However, it's understood that plans for the summer will be unaffected by the latest news, although the incoming Trevor Birch may well have a role to play in deciding how much Potter will have to spend.

Birch's appointment has in itself proved something of a cost-cutting exercise, arriving on a salary believed to be significantly less than predecessor Huw Jenkins.

What about the academy?

Cuts to staff in the academy set-up are not being ruled out, but it's understood that, despite rumours to the contrary, there are no plans to dissolve any of the youth sides.

The Americans and Potter are in agreement that the success of the academy, which has already produced a number of first-team stars, is vital to any future success for the club and plays an integral role in its identity.

Nevertheless, the need reduce day-to-day costs means that cuts to staff are not being ruled out.

There are currently no suggestions that facilities at Landore will be sold.

Contrary to rumours, Swansea City's academy sides will NOT be dissolved

How long will all this take?

The consultancy period is set to last 30 days, although there's an acceptance within the club that this sort of upheaval is likely to be drawn out a lot longer than that.

Birch, although not a part of the decision to implement this process, is expected to have a role in the plans when he takes up his position in April, but ultimately, the timeframe will largely be defined by how many employees choose to accept voluntary redundancy.

If there are enough members of staff that come forward to say that they are happy with the package and terms on offer, then the process is likely to be shortened significantly.