EDF suspends Hinkley Point C work, cuts 400 jobs

PARIS, April 2 (Reuters) - EDF Energy is suspending preparatory work at Britain's Hinkley Point C site and is cutting 400 jobs until a final investment decision on the nuclear reactor project has been taken, its French parent company EDF (Swiss: EDF.SW - news) (EDF (Paris: FR0010242511 - news) .PA ) said on Thursday.

The company said that preparatory work on the site has now been accomplished and that the next phase will be the beginning of construction work.

"We need to take a final investment decision before construction can start," an EDF spokeswoman said.

EDF said 400 jobs, mostly contractors, would go as a result, as staff numbers on the site are reduced to 250 from 650.

In October 2013, EDF estimated it would spend about 1.5 billion pounds on earthworks, drainage, roads and other preliminary work to prepare the site.

The project in southwest England, Britain's first new nuclear plant in decades, is expected to cost around 16 billion pounds ($25 billion) and start producing electricity in 2023.

EDF said it could not yet say when an investment decision would be taken. The company is still negotiating with British authorities about government debt guarantees for the project, decommissioning costs and other details.

It is also negotiating with two Chinese utilities about their role in Hinkley Point and possible future UK nuclear projects with EDF.

EDF Energy said in a statement that the next phase of work on the 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.

It added that in the meantime it will continue project planning, engineering design and commercial supply chain activities for the project. (Reporting by Geert De Clercq; editing by Mark John)