West Gate Tunnel project: hundreds of workers to be sacked

Hundreds of workers on Melbourne's $6.7 billion West Gate Tunnel project are set to be sacked amid landfill cost increases.

Companies CPB Contractors and John Holland have reportedly told the state government it would stand down up to 600 workers over the next 12 weeks.

About 100 white-collar staff and up to another 130 subcontractors were being stood down, according to The Age.

The cuts were linked to possible cost increases due to the landfill levy associated with dumping soil already dug up and being stockpiled along the West Gate Freeway.

Toll giant Transurban, which is leading the construction of the West Gate Tunnel, said there was a fixed price and time for the project.

"We are extremely disappointed the CPB John Holland Joint Venture is taking these steps when there are options to keep staff employed," a statement read.

"While there are challenges on the project, there are plenty of pathways forward to progress works and we urge the CPB John Holland Joint Venture to keep these people in a job."

The joint venture declined to comment.

It is understood impacted workers will be offered relocation or redundancies.

This project has been a bumpy road with ongoing disputes between the government and the joint venture along the way.

Transurban has previously been warned by the state government it will lose millions of dollars each day the project is late.

The tunnel, which will be an alternative to the city's heavily congested West Gate Bridge, was meant to be finished in 2022 but has been pushed back to 2023.

- With AAP reporting