Hundreds of jobs at SA’s Whyalla steelworks have been axed with closure of blast furnace
South Australian Premier says the government hasn’t given up on Whyalla steelworks operation, despite hundreds being be axed on Monday.
At least 500 jobs will be axed at and around South Australia’s Whyalla steelworks, as administrators and the state government walk away from restarting the dormant blast furnace.
The permanent closure of the 60-year-old “clapped out” furnace was announced by the administrators and SA government in Whyalla on Monday.
However, Whyalla’s steel shaping mill will keep operating.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Premier Peter Malinauskas said the government accepted the decision of KordaMentha, and said his government was committed to ensuring the steel industry continued in the town.
“Our interests as a government, first and foremost, has to be the long-term future of Whyalla, to ensure that we preserve steelmaking in Whyalla in a way that is economic and commercial for the long-term,” Mr Malinauskas said.
“Those plans remain on track.
“Nothing that occurs today disrupts or undermines our ability to deliver the long-term vision of Whyalla, which is to have a new steelmaker with new equipment and new technology making steel in a way that sets Whyalla up for the long-term. That doesn’t change.”
He said the government was down to the final two bidders to operate the steelworks and a final decision would be made before Christmas.
Mr Malinauskas unveiled a $10m state/federal support package and vowed the entitlements for affected workers would be paid in full.
The support includes personalised career advice and planning, job search assistance, financial information and support services and training, upskilling and reskilling opportunities.
KordaMentha administrator Sebastian Hams said, where possible, employees would be redeployed or undertake voluntary redundancies but forced redundancies would be unavoidable.
The steelworks workforce will be cut from 1700 to 1200, while about 100 contractors would also be affected.
Australian Workers Union Whyalla branch organiser Shane Karger said it was “not a great day” but it was not unexpected.
“There are some hard roads ahead. We have expected this,” he told the press conference.
“We’ve put as much contingency in as we can. We’ve spoken to our workers and our members as often and as regular as we can.
“So, yes, today’s tough. Today is going to be tough. It’s going to be tough for a little while to come. But I hear the word resilience used about our workers.
“I just would like to call them stubbornly determined.
“We’ve had a rough end of the stick for quite a few years now. You know, just over ten years. We’ve never given up. We’re still not going to give up.”
The state government put Whyalla into administration in February 2025, and since then the plant has been run by administrator KordaMentha.
The state and federal governments have put more than $1bn in to keep the operation going.
On Sunday, Mr Malinauskas reiterated that the 60-year-old blast furnace was in bad shape.
“The blast furnace’s days have always been numbered, and it’s looking as though that that number is becoming increasingly small, to say the least,” he said.
“The blast furnace is in an exceptionally precarious position and that problem has only been intensifying.
“This is a challenge we always knew was coming and … I think that’s becoming increasingly well known in Whyalla and to those that are working on the project.”
Indian-owned Jindal Steel, and Australian-owned M Resources remain in the running to buy Whyalla. BlueScope Steel holds the right of last offer.
A new owner would be able to import semifinished steel for processing.
Originally published as Hundreds of jobs at SA’s Whyalla steelworks have been axed with closure of blast furnace
