A protest by workers over job cuts disrupted production at a Turkish plant owned by the local unit of French automaker Renault on Tuesday, company and union officials told Reuters.

Workers protested after some of their colleagues were fired at the Oyak Renault plant in the northwestern city of Bursa, officials said. CNN Turk showed footage of police trying to break up the protests and said pepper spray was being used on the protesters.

"Production at the plant was stopped from Sunday until 8am (0600 GMT) today due to a technical issue. The plant is partially working today, with some operators protesting layoffs due to disciplinary penalties," a spokesman for Oyak Renault said.

The company is a joint venture between Renault and the Turkish army pension fund.

Ozkan Atar, general secretary of the labour union at the plant, said the protest started after 10 union members were fired on Monday. Police have detained 15 protesting workers, Atar said.

A week-long protest over wages and working conditions at Oyak Renault last year hampered production for a week. That protest spread to other plants, including the local operations of Ford and Fiat Chrysler.

Bursa, where the factories are located, is home to much of Turkey's auto industry.-Reuters