Derby received another blow at the weekend when Rolls-Royce told its workers in the city that a new high-tech engine-testing facility in likely to be built in Germany or the US rather than Britain.
Rolls Royce currently employs 11,000 workers in Derby who are developing the Trent XWB engines for the new Airbus A350 aircraft, due to launch in 2013.
But unions are concerned that the highly profitable company will jeopardise Derby's long-term manufacturing base by establishing a testing site in Germany or the US.
Unite East Midlands regional secretary Adrian Uxtell said: "Work follows the experimental test-beds and a significant number of jobs in Derby are linked to development projects.
"Rolls-Royce, with the support of the government, need to do everything possible to maintain its development projects in Derby in the long term."
Mr Uxtell's whose union represents half of the 11,000 workers added: "This [decision] has potentially long-term implications for Derby's manufacturing base.
"The uncertainties arising from Rolls-Royce's plans go to show why the government should support Bombardier when it can instead of allowing the work to go to Germany."
A Rolls-Royce spokesman dismissed union concerns over the future of its Derby workforce but admitted it had formally opened consultation "regarding potential options."
The news caps a bad few weeks for the city as Bombardier train manufacturers are expected to lay off 1,400 workers if the government bends to EU procurement rules on preventing domestic bias in awarding contracts.
Unite's executive officer Tony Woodley has said that he expects the 172-year-old train plant to close at the cost of a further 1,600 jobs if the government finalises the deal with Siemens, which is the preferred bidder to build 1,200 carriages for the Thameslink route.
He who will address Bombardier workers on Tuesday.
"It is not possible for a company this big to survive without work between now and Crossrail," he said.
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