Hundreds of staff at the Prudential in Reading are holding a meeting to discuss strike action.

It follows the announcement this week that 850 jobs will go over the next two years as the insurer moves its call centre to India.

Amicus, the union that represents more than half of those whose jobs are under threat, hopes to open negotiations to stop the move abroad.

The company said the move to Bombay would save it �16m a year by 2006.

Cheaper workforce

The meeting is due to take place at 1530 BST on Thursday.

Bill McArdle, policy manager for the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce said a strike would be unhelpful.

"From a local employment point of view the more stable the labour force the better for all concerned - so we wouldn't welcome that kind of talk."

Prudential will be left with around 1,400 workers in Reading after the move which will see Indian graduates paid an estimated one-tenth of the salary of the existing staff.

Last November, Prudential announced 2,000 job cuts as part of an ongoing restructuring plan designed to save up to �200m a year.

Earlier in 2001, it made 2,000 members of its door-to-door workforce redundant.