BBC NI journalists have voted to strike over "cuts to BBC Radio Foyle and the risk of redundancies", it has been announced.
The timing of any strike action has yet to be announced but it is possible the broadcaster's coverage of the forthcoming council elections could be impacted.
In an initial statement published on social media, the National Union of Journalists said its members "won't stand by and let valued local services be withdrawn".
Read more: NUJ issues BBC election strike warning ahead of final Radio Foyle Breakfast broadcast
Belfast Live understands 82.76% of those taking part in the ballot backed strike action, with 17.24% against.
A spokesperson for NUJ BBC Nations and Regions said: "NUJ members in BBC Northern Ireland have voted overwhelmingly for strike action and industrial action over cuts to BBC Radio Foyle and the risk of redundancies for some colleagues.
"It's another clear mandate from colleagues in the NUJ BBC Nations and Regions and a message that we won't stand by and let valued local services be withdrawn.
"Yes, schedule changes have taken into effect but we will continue to campaign.
"We will be consulting with reps and members shortly on when the action will take place and in what form. As ever, our door remains open if senior management wish to talk."
The BBC announced in March that it would cut BBC Radio Foyle's flagship breakfast news programme from two hours to just 30 minutes, and scrap the existing lunchtime news programme altogether, along with a host of other changes.
The proposed cuts were met with immediate opposition from both the National Union of Journalists, local campaigners, and politicians but on April 21, the full-length Breakfast Show broadcast for the last time.
Since then, a 30-minute news programme has been broadcast each weekday on BBC Radio Foyle.
Ahead of the final broadcast, and with the strike ballot still ongoing, NUJ assistant general secretary Seamus Dooley told Belfast Live any industrial action "will affect coverage of the local elections in Northern Ireland".
In a statement, a spokesperson for BBC said it is "disappointed NUJ members have voted in favour of industrial action in BBC NI."
The spokesperson continued: "Foyle's role as a newsgathering and production hub has been secured and it will continue to deliver great content for BBC audiences across the north-west and beyond.
"As we said back in November 2022, our ambition was to achieve the savings required without the need for compulsory redundancies. In accordance with that commitment, suitable roles have been offered to everyone who was 'at risk' of redundancy."
The corporation also insisted there would be "no BBC headcount reduction in Foyle".
"We have moved peak and off-peak Radio Ulster programming to the north-west; we reintroduced two posts which had previously been earmarked for closure; and we have retained daily news in peak-time, with an exclusively local focus," the spokesperson said.
"We will continue to work constructively with staff and the trade unions in the interests of everyone involved and the audiences we serve."
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