EDF axes 400 jobs at Hinkley Point nuclear project

Four hundred construction jobs are to be cut at the site of Britain's Hinkley Point nuclear power plant after France's EDF called a halt to preparatory work for the first in a new generation of reactors.

The cuts follows news in February of a delay to an investment decision on the £24.5bn project, now likely to be months away as negotiations with potential investors continue.

The French utility said in a statement: "The next phase of work on site and in the associated developments will require a substantial increase in spending levels, and will begin as soon as the final investment decision has been made.

"In the meantime work to ensure the project's readiness will continue, including project planning, engineering design and commercial supply chain activities."

Industry insiders said the number of contractors on the site in Somerset would fall from 650 to 250, pending a final investment decision on whether to build the plant, which is due to come online in 2023. There are 850 people working on the project in the UK.

Preparation works have been taking place, including building earthworks, drainage works, concrete production facilities and culvert construction - where channels are built to transfer water around the site. But these are now nearing completion.

EDF Energy, the group's UK unit, has said it is "working hard" to finalise a deal on Hinkley Point C and "making progress" in discussions with possible partners, including with the Chinese companies involved.

There have been signs that negotiations with the partners - China General Nuclear Power Corp, China National Nuclear Corp, France's Areva, Saudi Electric and several pension funds - had stalled over Chinese demands.

The Chinese energy companies, which are rivals, have been at odds over their precise share of the project. Both have been pushing for a substantial share of the supply chain contracts - a demand that has held up negotiations, although it is now understood to have been met.

They are also interested in buying into proposed reactor projects at Sizewell in Suffolk and Bradwell in Essex, the second of which they want to use to pioneer their own reactor design. This has been a stumbling block.

Potential investors are also understood to want to see government agreement on the contract for difference (CFD), or price at which the power will be sold, before making a final commitment.

The UK general election has cast further uncertainty over the project. It is unclear how a new administration might regard Hinkley, seen by some critics as an expensive use of taxpayer subsidies when cheaper gas plants could be built more quickly.

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