ALMOST 200 jobs are understood to be under threat as part of a company wide restructure at construction firm Shepherd.

The company, with bases in Darlington, York and Newcastle, has started a 45-day consultation which is expected to result in cuts to back-office roles.

Shepherd's two contracting businesses employ almost 1,400 staff.

The latest accounts for Shepherd Construction, which is building the Hitachi train factory at Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, showed it ran up an £8.2m loss last year as turnover fell by a third to £240m.

Its Shepherd Engineering Services business performed better, making a £5.3m profit as turnover rose 8 per cent to £208m.

Mark Perkins, Shepherd's chief executive, said: "The executive board is currently reviewing the Shepherd Construction business, along with its support service teams with a view to establishing the right scale and platform for future growth and sustainability.

"We must ensure that Shepherd Construction operates as efficiently as possible to meet the demands of today's market and safeguard the long term future of the company and its workforce. We will do everything possible to minimise potential redundancies and prioritise the welfare of staff affected by the consultation throughout."