Workers' strike stops work at Tata Steel IJmuiden in Holland

Workers at Dutch Tata Steel went on strike Wednesday to protest planned job cuts. Mine preparation workers laid down their tools at 2:00 p.m. local time, forcing blast furnaces and other operations at the Ijmeiden ironworks to stop. FNV union spokesman Roel Berguis said: "They want, among other things, a guarantee that there will be no layoffs."

Dutch unions say Tata plans to cut 1,000 of the 9,000 jobs in the Netherlands as part of a broader restructuring of its European operations in the UK. Tata Europe says it has no plans for forced layoffs.