Alcoa workers protest planned closure of Sardinia plant

An Alcoa employee plants himself on the ground before police during the demonstration outside the industry ministry in Rome.  (Andreas Solaro / AFP/Getty Images)

Alcoa employees clash with police during the demonstration outside the industry ministry in Rome.  (Filippo Monteforte / AFP/Getty Images)

Demonstrators protest the planned closure of an Alcoa plant on the Italian island of Sardinia. The plants employs about 2,000 people.   (Andreas Solaro / AFP/Getty Images)

Employees of one of the world’s leading producers of aluminum, Alcoa, pound their helmets on the ground as they take part in a demonstration outside the industry ministry in Rome.  (Filippo Monteforte / AFP/Getty Images)

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti’s government holds talks to find a solution as workers clash with police outside the industry ministry in Rome.  (Andreas Solaro / AFP/Getty Images)

Clashes erupt between Alcoa workers and police near the Ministry of Economic Development in Rome.  (Alessandro Di Meo / EPA)

Employees of aluminum producer Alcoa clash with police during a demonstration outside the industry ministry in Rome.  (Filippo Monteforte / AFP /Getty Images)

Alcoa blamed “factors beyond our control,” including “the economic situation and the burdens imposed by the European regulatory system,” for the planned shutdown of its Sardina plant.  (Filippo Monteforte / AFP/Getty Images)

A group of workers and trade unionists from the Alcoa plant in Sardinia shout slogans as they arrive in front of the Ministry of Economic Development in Rome.  (Ettore Ferrari / EPA)