Journalists at Italian newspaper L'Unita went on strike last week after the nearly bankrupt paper announced a restructuring plan that would result in a "drastic" staff cut, the staff stated on the newspaper's Web site, AFP reported last week.

Along with job cuts, the plan details the implementation of early retirement plans, cutting pay by up to 40 percent and not renewing short-term contracts. Other modifications included in the plan would result in the closure of regional offices and a reduction in the number of pages of the newspaper. The strike lasted from last Tuesday through today, according to Le Monde.

The leftist newspaper, founded in 1924 by the founder of the Italian Communist Party, was declared bankrupt in 2000, and then taken over last year by Renato Soru, the head of the Tiscali SpA group and a former left-wing political candidate, AFP reported in an article posted by Forexdaily.org.ru.

Le Monde reported Saturday that the paper's problem is not only due to the economic crisis, but also to Italy's "political crisis" which is affecting the countries centre-left parties.

Despite warnings made by the paper that explained a refusal by journalists to accept the plan would lead to the inevitable bankruptcy of the paper, staff members chose to protest, Le Monde reported.

In a statement regarding the paper's plan for the future, Soru explained, "The paper is in a crisis, everyone should see that. We must restructure the newspaper."