The company behind the planned £15 billion Moorside nuclear power station is restructuring – but pledged its commitment to the West Cumbrian project.

Around 100 staff and contractor jobs, including that of chief executive Tom Samson, are at risk under the restructuring plans.

NuGen said it was looking to “reprofile” the company as part of a review.

It said the “prolonged time” it had taken to seal the deal with Korean utility Kepco meant it needed to undertake the strategic review to determine how best to proceed with Moorside, which is set to built on land next to Sellafield.

Talks are understood to be at an advanced stage between NuGen’s current owners Toshiba and Kepco, the preferred bidder, over the ownership of the company.

The talks also include the UK Government – which recently suggested it would consider giving financial support for a new generation of nuclear power stations to meet the UK’s energy needs – and the Korean government, which owns a majority stake in Kepco.

Earlier this year, a Kepco official was quoted by a Korean news agency that the deal for NuGen was expected to be completed by September.

A NuGen spokesman said: “Toshiba has pursued a sale of NuGen to Kepco and the prolonged time it has taken reach a conclusion has required NuGen to undertake a review.

“As such additional options are being pursued for NuGen’s future direction to deliver the next generation of nuclear new build in the UK. It has been decided by the NuGen board to reprofile the organisation at this point in order to pursue alternatives.

“The NuGen team will take the opportunity to examine how it will best proceed with its continuing mission to deliver affordable and reliable low-carbon electricity for the UK. NuGen understands and appreciates the level of interest in the project and will provide clarity to its stakeholders at the appropriate time.”

NuGen’s staff are based between its offices in Manchester and Whitehaven and its contractors work across the country.

Moorside has been described as a “transformational” project for Cumbria’s economy.

The award of preferred bidder status to Kepco in December followed months of speculation over the future of a Moorside, which would create thousands of jobs during construction and operation and generate around seven per cent of the UK’s energy needs.

In early 2017 Westinghouse – the then subsidiary of Toshiba which was due to supply three AP1000 reactors to Moorside – filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the USA.

This led French firm Engie, which formerly held a minority stake in NuGen, to trigger shareholder agreements which forced Toshiba to take full control.

As a result Toshiba, which has since sold Westinghouse for £3bn, pursued the sale of some, if not all, of its stake in NuGen, revealing Kepco as its preferred bidder following reported discussions with China General Nuclear Power Corporation.

However, since talks between Toshiba and Kepco got underway in earnest, Government policy on support for nuclear new build has appeared to shift after Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said it would weigh up putting money in to the Horizon nuclear project at Wylfa Newydd, Anglesey, alongside developer Hitachi.

At the time NuGen welcomed the progress with the Horizon project, saying: “the development of an enduring and stable policy will reassure investors of the Government’s commitment”.

The landmark Nuclear Sector Deal published by the Government last month also pledged to drive down the cost of nuclear new build projects by up to 30 per cent by 2030.

The huge up-front cost of financing new nuclear projects is viewed as one of the biggest challenges faced by the industry and pressure has been mounting from both MPs and unions for the Government to take a stake in to ensure they progress.