Whyalla steelworks blast furnace to close after restart attempt fails
The immediate issue in Whyalla is the failed restart of the steelworks’ ageing blast furnace. Administrators and the South Australian government are moving to shut it down permanently, with hundreds of jobs expected to go, although the final number and the plant’s future ownership had not been settled in the available reporting.
Whyalla steelworks blast furnace to close after restart attempt fails
The blast furnace has been offline since April. Workers were told on Monday morning that it would not be restarted, ending attempts to bring the furnace back into operation. The furnace was used to melt iron ore into liquid pig iron before it was made into steel. ABC News
The reported job impact varies by source. ABC News said the decision was expected to leave about 500 workers without jobs, as well as more than 100 contractors at the site. The Australian Financial Review reported that up to 600 workers could be made redundant. ABC News Australian Financial Review
Those figures do not necessarily describe the same group of workers. InDaily reported that about 500 jobs were connected to the blast furnace, while other workers remained employed elsewhere at the steelworks. The reports do not establish the final number of redundancies or how many contractors will be affected. InDaily
What happened before the shutdown
KordaMentha took control of the business in February 2025, and the South Australian and federal governments have been involved in efforts to stabilise the operation and complete a sale. The Australian Financial Review said the state placed the plant into administration after accusing its owner, Sanjeev Gupta, of failing to provide sufficient investment; that allegation is presented as part of the report’s account, not as an independently established finding here. Australian Financial Review
Earlier in the administration process, Premier Peter Malinauskas said the purpose was to stabilise the business and prevent job losses. ABC News reported that administrators later began discussing the possibility of redundancies as the furnace remained offline and its restart became more difficult. ABC News
InDaily described the shutdown as coming 19 months after a reported $2.4 billion bailout and said the facility had continued to require substantial public support. It also reported that the ageing furnace would require major investment to return the wider steelworks to operation. InDaily
Jobs, replacement work and the sale
The South Australian government was expected to outline further employment arrangements at a press conference on Monday afternoon. ABC News reported that potential offers from other employers, including BHP, could be discussed. InDaily reported that about 150 jobs had been organised for redundant workers with BHP and Hallett Group, although that figure and those opportunities had not been presented as a complete replacement for the expected losses. ABC News InDaily
The blast furnace decision was separate from the choice of a buyer for the steelworks. InDaily reported that KordaMentha was expected to announce its preferred bidder by the end of September, but that Monday’s announcement was not expected to identify the successful buyer. InDaily
The latest verified position is therefore that the furnace restart has been abandoned and permanent closure is expected to remove hundreds of related jobs, while the ownership of the remaining business and the final employment arrangements were still unresolved.