Whyalla job losses a matter of ‘timing’, South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas says

The ageing Whyalla blast furnace was doomed to close, but timing is to blame for the hundreds of job losses it implies, the South Australian premier claims.

Peter Malinauskas also told the ABC on Tuesday he was unable to state how much taxpayers have spent trying to keep the ageing blast furnace operating.

The facility, which has been offline since April, was permanently shut down in a surprise announcement on Monday, with more than 500 jobs lost.

Malinauskas said he had hoped the blast furnace could have continued to operate until a sale was secured and new technology installed.

But the furnace, which was first commissioned in the 1960s, was already living on borrowed time.

“Ideally, that closure would have happened later ... but alas, that wasn’t able to be achieved,” he told the program.

Administrators KordaMentha said the workforce from the steelworks, the port, and the mine would be reduced from 1700 to about 1200. Another 100 labour hire workers would also lose their jobs.

The South Australian and federal governments have provided support to keep the site running since it entered administration in 2025.

Pressed on how much of the $2.4 billion support package was spent on keeping the blast furnace operational, Malinauskas could not say.

Federal industry minister Tim Ayres told the program it would have included “many millions of dollars” including workers’ wages.

But calculating the precise figure was difficult given it formed just one element of a broader funding package, he said.

Senator Ayres also pushed back on the Coalition’s claims the closure was the result of energy policy, instead shifting the blame to its former owner.

“It’s got everything to do with the previous owner who has underinvested in that facility,” he said.

Whyalla is one of two Australian primary steelworks and the only local manufacturer of long products, including hot rolled structural steel sections and rail.