AIRBUS has said it is "disappointed" with the decision by workers at its Broughton plant to go on strike.

About 3,000 Airbus employees, members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, voted to strike after the company refused to improve on an "unacceptably low" pay offer for 2021.

The strike action could begin as early as March.

Airbus has said it is "keen to avoid damaging industrial action" and is "committed to ongoing dialogue with the Trade Union to help bring this situation to a successful resolution".

A statement released by the company on Tuesday evening said: "We understand the decision to vote in favour of industrial action has not been taken lightly; however, we are disappointed by the decision, given the damaging impact it will have on our recovery from the pandemic, which has been the worst crisis the aviation industry has ever faced.

"Airbus in the UK managed to successfully navigate the first waves of the pandemic without the need for any compulsory redundancies at a cost of more than £100M and we made our pay offer in the context of the pandemic’s impact on our business and the wider benefits structure employees receive.

"The company is keen to avoid damaging industrial action so we can focus on building a resilient, competitive and collaborative place to work for years to come."

It added: "We are committed to ongoing dialogue with the Trade Union to help bring this situation to a successful resolution.

"The safety of our people and products is paramount and we will now implement plans to ensure the protection of our operations is maintained going forward."