The Bureau of Meteorology has denied a new proposal moving forecasting staff to Melbourne and Brisbane would result in job losses, after the union sounded the alarm over the plans.

In an email sent to bureau staff on Monday afternoon by Bureau of Meteorology Director Andrew Johnson, staff were told local teams in each state and territory would be reduced to "customer focussed delivery teams," while forecast production and specialist technical roles would be moved to Melbourne and Brisbane.

Local weather forecasting work could come out of Melbourne or Brisbane under a new Bureau of Meteorology plan. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The bureau has more than 200 forecasters, and it's believed half of them will be directly impacted by the news.

The main public sector union said the announcement came as a shock to forecasters, who were concerned about the impact the lack of local knowledge would have on the quality of forecasting.