Almost 70 jobs are to go at the company behind the planned Moorside nuclear power station as it refocuses its efforts on finding a buyer to take the wavering £15 billion project forward.

NuGen confirmed that its team of around 100 staff and contractors will reduce to 32 following a comprehensive review sparked by delays to a deal between current owners Toshiba and Korean utility Kepco.

The review, launched back in July, came after Kepco was stripped of preferred bidder status to buy NuGen.

NuGen says it is retaining only a core team of staff to can help Toshiba push through its sale, with a number of other companies understood to be in discussions to buy the company along with Kepco.

The company’s chief executive Tom Samson is among the 32 people who will keep their jobs.

The restructure – exclusively revealed by in-Cumbria – has led to concerns from MPs and unions that the Moorside development will not happen, despite NuGen stressing its commitment to a project that will create thousands of jobs and generate up to seven per cent of the UK’s energy needs.

A spokesman for NuGen, which is headquartered in Manchester with an office in West Cumbria, said staff were informed of the decision today.

“NuGen staff were informed that owing to the protracted period of time it has taken to secure a way forward for the Moorside project, there would be a phased reduction in the headcount within the NuGen organisation,” he said.

“This consultation served to identify the posts that will be required to finalise and complete a transaction for the sale of NuGen and as a result, the team of over 100 will reduce to fewer than 40.

"NuGen’s retained core team will be focused on securing a sale of the NuGen business and supporting Toshiba’s activities.

He added: “NuGen’s aim remains to deliver low-carbon, low cost nuclear power at Moorside and the company remains committed to delivering this for Cumbria and the UK.”

Toshiba has been looking to sell part or all of its stake in NuGen since April last year when minority shareholder Engie pulled out in response to Westinghouse – the then subsidiary of Toshiba which was due to supply three AP1000 reactors to Moorside – filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the USA.

Korean state-owned Kepco emerged as preferred bidder to buy NuGen in December following months of uncertainty, with one Korean government official hopeful that the deal would be completed this month.

However, it was stripped of the status in July, opening the door to discussions with other potential buyers, but also casting doubts over the future of a project, which has been described as “transformational” for Cumbria.

MPs Trudy Harrison (Copeland), John Woodock (Barrow and Furness), Sue Hayman (Workington) and John Stevenson (Carlisle), have all called for the Government to intervene to ensure Moorside happens, while unions have demanded it takes a financial stake to help de-risk the project.

However, sources in Korea say a shift in UK Government policy on its support for new nuclear power stations is to blame for the delay to negotiations with Kepco.

Last month a Korean Government official said the deal between Toshiba and Kepco for NuGen was being renegotiated because the UK government’s decision to “change profit models for the project”.

It is understood that both Kepco and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy are undertaking a study to assess the profitability and risk of applying a regulated asset base (RAB) model to the Moorside project – which allows government regulators to ensure stable returns and finance through government support.