Workers at the Dutch car manufacturer NedCar went on strike on Friday in the southern city of Born in Limburg province in protest of plans by its Japanese owner Mitsubishi to stop production by year end.

Labor unions expect at least 1,000 people to register for the strike. Job Cohen, leader of Labor party PvdA, and Theo Bovens, the governor of Limburg, will visit the strikers on Friday morning.

Mitsubishi Motors on Monday announced it would halt automobile production in Europe before 2013.

NedCar, the largest car factory in the Netherlands, employs around 1,500 people in its factory. However, Output at NedCar, which was established in 1991, has remained sharply below its production capacity of 200,000 units a year, contributing to Mitsubishi Motors' operating loss in Europe, reports said.

Mitsubishi had said it was willing to sell NedCar for a symbolic amount of one euro to a possible takeover candidate. That would mean Mitsubishi could avoid the costs of a social plan.

According to local reports, Mini, under the BMW Group, is interested in taking over the NedCar plant in Born.

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