The latest speculation from the city is far below the alarmist headlines in the national and trade press, which have claimed anywhere between 4,000 and 12,000 jobs are at risk.

Balfour Beatty is understood to be angry about the misleading reports and has stressed that at present no figure has been officially put on the number of jobs at risk.

A spokesman said: “There is a consultation underway about a planned restructuring, which will affect only office staff.

“Nobody has been formally put at risk of losing their jobs at this stage.”

The businesses likely to be impacted are Balfour Beatty Construction, Mansell, Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering and Balfour Beatty Engineering Services.

The axe will only fall on office staff who are understood to account for around a third of the total Balfour Beatty UK workforce.

An analyst told the Enquirer: “Balfour Beatty companies still need to function with estimators, planners and other office based staff.

“If you look at the realistic level of cuts, and take into account planned savings of £50m, it is clear they are thinking of mid hundreds rather than thousands.”