SHOP stewards and top management from Barnoldswick-based Rolls-Royce were today meeting Pendle MP Gordon Prentice to discuss possible strike action over plans to cut the workforce.

Mr Prentice said: "The situation is very difficult. The company has a bulging order book standing at £13.2billion which is the equivalent of about three years' worth of work and last year the profit went up 11 per cent.

"In these circumstances a lot of people are scratching their heads and wondering how this squares with the planned redundancies.

"I have already met up with some of the senior management from Rolls Royce headquarters and they tell me that the order book is 'big but fragile' and it seems as if the contracts were won at a price where planned cost reductions were built in.

"Rolls-Royce spend about £600million a year in research and development and it is important for them to keep ahead of competition but the Government gave Rolls-Royce £200m in launch aid to help develop the hugely successful Trent series of engines so they want to see the company succeed. That's what I want too but surely this must be possible without compulsory job losses."

The MP will follow up discussions with a meeting in London with Rolls-Royce Chief Executive, John Rose.