Bam is consulting on cutting 40 roles within its UK and Ireland construction division.

The jobs at risk are in the firm’s London and Northern teams, the contractor confirmed.

A spokesperson said: “Like all businesses we need to be flexible and adapt to current market conditions. Within the construction sector the market has been particularly challenging over the past couple of years. As a result of this we have started a consultation process about reducing staff numbers within the construction segment of Bam UK and Ireland Division.

“This is not a decision we have taken lightly but these proposed changes will support us in further embedding our regional and divisional structures which have been implemented over recent years.”

Bam recently took a financial hit on the troubled Co-op Live arena in Manchester, the scheme’s developer told the Manchester Evening News. Project costs ballooned by at least £85m, he said, after the venue’s opening night was delayed three times due to building issues.

The new job cuts are Bam’s second within a year. Last July, the contractor announced a “small number of redundancies” resulting from a shakeup of its regional construction businesses.

Bam is one of the UK’s biggest contractors, ranking seventh in Construction News’ annual table of the UK’s top 100 construction firms.

Bam’s UK construction arm, where the job cuts are taking place, reported a loss of  €14.8m (£12.5m), adjusted for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), in unaudited accounts in February.

Chief executive of parent company Royal Bam, Ruud Joosten, attributed the hit to “supply chain issues and cost overruns at a large project”.