UP to 70 jobs are to go at the Teesside arm of Norwegian firm Aker Kvaerner.

The group amalgamated three businesses under the single banner AK Engineering Services and is looking to strip out areas where staff duplicate work.

It is the second time this year the company has laid people off as part of restructuring programmes. In February, 25 workers were made redundant from the firm's energy and environmental unit at Ashmore House, Stockton.

The company said last night that it had started a 30-day consultation period with employees and was searching for opportunities to find workers other roles within the company following the latest jobs blow.

A spokeswoman last night told The Northern Echo: "I can confirm that AK Engineering Services, Aker Kvaerner's engineering services business, based in Stockton-on-Tees, has commenced the consultation process with employees to place approximately 70 jobs at risk of redundancy.

"We are disappointed that we have to make these changes at a time when we are focusing on doubling the size of the business over the next three years.

"These changes and potential reductions in our employees are, however, inevitable given that we have created a single focused business from three separate entities."

Aker Kvaerner is a leading global provider of engineering and construction services, technology products and integrated solutions.

The business spans a number of industries, including oil and gas upstream and downstream, process, pharmaceuticals, metals, power, chemical, pulping, environmental technologies, and shipbuilding.

It has annual revenues of approximately US$6bn (£3.6bn) and employs about 35,000 employees in more than 30 countries.

Its modifications, maintenance and operations division was merged with energy and environmental, and process units earlier this year to take advantage of similar "skills and expertise".

The process business, which operated out of Stockton and Warrington, was separate from Aker's European process business, AK Process, which operates mainly out of offices in Solent and Zoetermeer, in Holland, as well as other offices in Europe. AK Process is not affected.

AK Engineering Services employs about 1,500 people at its Stockton site. The comp-any said it was too early to tell which sections of the business faced the threat of redundancy.

The spokeswoman said: "It is foreseen that potentially all levels across the business could be affected."