Rolls-Royce staff at the firm's Lancashire factory will strike next month in a bid to prevent hundreds of jobs being offshored to Singapore.
In summer, the manufacturing giant said it was looking to move production of its 'trent engine' blades at Barnoldswick to the south east Asian country, with the loss of 350 people.
On Monday, union Unite said the move would make the factory, which Rolls-Royce has owned since 1943 and is the cradle of the jet engine, potentially unviable.
It added that staff will strike for three weeks from November 6 to preserve the viability of the factory after 94% voted 'yes' in favour of action.
Unite said it delayed issuing strike dates to give Rolls-Royce a "final chance" to alter its plans by cancelling its offshoring proposals or by "ensuring that Barnoldswick remains viable by introducing similar work and employment levels". Those commitments were not made, so strike action has now been confirmed.
Unite regional officer Ross Quinn said: “Unite has given Rolls-Royce every opportunity to change its plans, confirm there will be no more compulsory redundancies and guarantee the long-term future of Barnoldswick, but it has refused to do so.
“To offshore work and destroy the viability of this historic factory would be nothing short of industrial vandalism.
“As a consequence and as a last resort, Unite has instructed its members to take targeted strike action in order to bring Rolls-Royce to the negotiating table.
“Barnoldswick is the cradle of the jet engine and the workforce and the local community will not allow Rolls-Royce to destroy the viability of the site without a huge fight."
Describing the move by Rolls-Royce as "simply unacceptable", national officer Rhys McCarthy added: "If Rolls-Royce is prepared to propose a viable future for Barnoldswick, then Unite will meet them at any time to resolve this dispute and secure a deal to preserve the jobs and the future of the factory.”
A statement from Rolls-Royce said: it was "disappointed" to receive notice of industrial action at the Barnoldswick site - but remains "committed to meaningful consultation with employee representatives and trade unions on the future of the facility".
It added: “Although we are proposing that some work will no longer take place at the site, we have no plans to close it.
“Our people in Barnoldswick will play an important role in developing fan blades for our future jet engines, keeping the UK at the cutting-edge of aerospace technology.
“We ask them to work with us, not against us as we deal with the impact of the pandemic on our business.”
