THERE was more bad news for Teesside yesterday when an engineering firm announced up to 80 jobs are to be lost.

Aker Kvaerner will shed most of the jobs at its Stockton site where it employs 1,500.

The company said the cuts were down to a change of service it was hoping to offer.

Instead of focusing on one-off projects the company wanted to offer long-term relationships with clients which meant workers with different skills were needed.

The latest blow at Aker Kvaerner comes only months after the company announced they planned to double the business and create 140 jobs on Teesside by 2005.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that various companies have shown an interest in buying Hartlepool Fabrications, which was taken over by receivers earlier this month.

The company, which built Gateshead's Angel of the North, is being run by joint administrators Gareth Roberts and Hurst Morrison Thomson. Fifty-five people work for the firm. The administrators hope to make an announcement on the firm's future by the end of November.