BBC journalists and technical staff are to stage a 24-hour strike in a row over jobs which threatens to disrupt radio and TV news programmes, unions announced.
Members of Bectu and the National Union of Journalists will walk out on February 26 after votes in favour of industrial action.
The dispute involves job cuts, with unions saying they were determined to avoid compulsory redundancies.
Bectu official Luke Crawley said the row centred on fewer than 10 redundancies among journalists and broadcasting staff.
"The BBC has achieved almost 4,000 job losses through voluntary measures and it seems madness to try to force through fewer than 10 compulsory redundancies. Bectu members are intent on taking strike action to protect their colleagues."
The NUJ said thousands of its members at the BBC, including radio, online and TV, across the UK, will be on strike on February 26 unless the row is resolved.
The BBC said in a statement: "We note the decision with regret but we have an obligation to licence fee payers to implement our value-for-money efficiency savings.
"The BBC remains committed to trying to achieve these savings without the need for compulsory redundancies and we are still in discussions with Bectu and the NUJ about how this might be achieved.
"The decision to take industrial action is particularly disappointing given that the BBC has been working extremely hard together to achieve as much as possible through voluntary means.
"The vast majority of the value-for-money post closures achieved to date (more than 1,500) have not been through compulsory redundancy. We will of course implement contingency plans to minimise any disruption to viewers."
