The Dutch unions say Tata is planning to cut 1,000 of 9,000 jobs in the Netherlands as part of a wider restructuring of its British-based European operations.

Workers at Tata Steel's Dutch operations went on strike on Wednesday to protest against planned job cuts, the FNV union said.

Ore-preparation workers laid down their tools at 2pm local time, forcing blast furnaces and other operations at the IJmuiden steelworks to halt.

"They want, among other things, the guarantee that there will be no redundancies," spokesman Roel Berghuis said in a statement.

The Dutch unions say Tata is planning to cut 1,000 of 9,000 jobs in the Netherlands as part of a wider restructuring of its British-based European operations. Tata Europe says it does not plan forced redundancies.