More than 500 jobs gone as Whyalla Steelworks closes blast furnace
Hundreds of workers will lose their jobs due to a decision to permanently shut down the blast furnace at South Australia’s Whyalla steelworks.
The blast furnace at South Australia's Whyalla steelworks has been permanently shut down, resulting in the loss of hundreds of jobs. According to ABC News AU, approximately 500 workers and over 100 contractors will be affected by the decision. The blast furnace had been offline since April and, despite efforts to restart it, was unable to be revived.
The shutdown comes as administrators KordaMentha, along with state and federal governments, work to finalise the sale of the business, which has been in administration for 19 months. SA Premier Peter Malinauskas is expected to address the media and provide further details on the decision, including potential job offers from other employers, such as BHP.
The Whyalla steelworks' blast furnace was used to melt iron-ore into liquid pig iron, which was then turned into steel. The decision to shut it down was made after workers were informed this morning, with The Sydney Morning Herald and ABC News AU reporting that hundreds of workers will lose their jobs as a result.
Brief written by urgent.news from The Sydney Morning Herald, ABC News AU — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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