TMD Friction workers will be balloted for strike action in a dispute over the planned closure of the Clecheaton brake manufacturing site.

The possible closure will put 230 workers out of a job and will affect its customers, including its biggest, Toyota.

TMD Friction, which is the biggest employer in Cleckheaton and has been based in the town for 130 years, announced on the January 8 that it planned to shut the site by the end of July.

The T&G, working with union Amicus, have been in negotiations with the company since then however members have rejected by 100% the company’s offer on redundancy.

The T&G will now move to ballot its members for industrial action. The ballot is being prepared for issue and a result is expected within the next three weeks.

Bev Clarkson, T&G regional industrial organiser, said: “The company are shutting their historic base in Cleckheaton in order to maximise profits and move part of production out of the UK. Many of our members are long-serving and deserve better treatment from a company they have devoted many years to. The company should honour its agreements with the workforce rather than renege on them to save money.

“The impact of closure will have a devastating effect on employees, who are from the local area. The company should seriously reconsider their offer in the light of the unanimous rejection of it by our members.”