About 5,000 sugar farm workers and 500 mill workers of the Cojuangco-owned Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac went on strike on 6 November 2004, demanding among other things the reinstatement of 327 workers laid off by the management. On 16 November 2004 police and military forces dispersed the picket, killing seven strikers and wounding at least 200; the company's Supreme Court pleadings confirm that it ceased operations as a result of the strike.