A £2 billion pot is being set aside by the NHS to pay for one-off costs such as redundancies and redeploying staff, the Department of Health has confirmed.
NHS trusts have been asked to set aside 2% of their funds for "one-off commitments as opposed to long-term ones".
Last month, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warned that thousands of jobs would go in the health service as part of a drive to find between £15 and £20 billion of "efficiency savings" over three years.
Data from 26 NHS trusts showed at least 5,600 posts were at risk in England but this could rise above 36,000 in a "worst case scenario", the RCN said.
The DoH confirmed that some £2bn would be "invested in one-off expenditure that supports and enables the achievement of quality and productivity improvements".
Trusts will decide how to spend that cash but can use it for redundancies and retraining staff to work in facilities that move care away from hospitals and closer to home.
A DoH spokeswoman confirmed trusts could use the cash for redeployment, setting up new services, retraining and redundancy.
The BBC reported that some trusts have already made public announcements about how many jobs will go.
Dr Paul Flynn, deputy chairman of the British Medical Association, said: "I would hope redundancy is not the first thing this fund is going to be used for, but it seems job losses will be inevitable. We hear about the drugs budget and other areas where savings can be made, but staff costs are the biggest single cost the NHS faces."
The DoH has asked NHS trusts to set aside 2% of funds to pay for one-off costs like redundancies
