Workers at Leonardo's British factories to walk out next month

(Sharecast News) - More than 3,000 UK workers at defence firm Leonardo are due to go on strike next month, it was confirmed on Friday, after pay discussions broke down. The union Unite balloted members over strike action earlier this month, after the Italian firm refused to improve its initial pay offer of 3.2%.

They voted in favour, and on Friday Unite confirmed more than 3,000 workers would walk out in Scotland and England next month.

Unite members will strike at five of Leonardo's nine main UK factories - Yeovil, Luton, Basildon, Edinburgh and Newcastle - on 5 and 6 November.

There will then be further strikes on 12 and 13 November at Yeovil, Luton and Basildon, and from 10 to 18 November at Edinburgh and Newcastle.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Our members are highly skilled and work on critical defence and aerospace systems, yet are being short-changed by a company making billions."

Leonardo - which has yet to comment on the confirmed strike dates - is a leading specialist in aerospace, defence and security. Clients including governments and defence agencies as well as other enterprises.

Employing more than 60,000 people worldwide, in 2024 revenues came in at €17.8bn.

Its Yeovil plant is the UK's only helicopter factory, while the Edinburgh site produces advanced radars for military aircraft.

On Thursday, Leonardo confirmed it had struck a deal with rivals Airbus and Thales to combine their space businesses. The tie-up will to create a leading, pan-European player with annual revenues of around €6.5bn.