Italian Steelworkers Stage Naples Protest

NAPLES, Italy — More than a thousand steel workers protesting industry restructuring plans drove bulldozers and other heavy equipment through central Naples on Thursday, set fire to buses and broke windows at a downtown railroad station. No injuries were reported, police said.

The workers, from the Italsider steel plant, were protesting an overhaul of Italy’s steel industry agreed to by the European Community in December under which much of the firm will be closed by July, with the loss of more than 2,500 jobs.

Nationwide, around 20,000 jobs are due to be shed under the plan, cutting back Italian steelmaking capacity as part of a European drive to streamline the industry.