Whyalla钢铁工厂在爆炸炉重新启动故障后削减了500多份工作岗位

关闭的决定

Administrators of the Whyalla steelworks in South Australia have abandoned further attempts to restart its ageing blast furnace, triggering more than 500 direct job losses and another 100 cuts among labour-hire workers. The workforce covering the steelworks, associated mine and port is expected to fall from about 1,700 to 1,200. The furnace, the core of the site’s traditional steelmaking operation, had been offline since April.

大多数生产将停止或在显著减少的水平上运行。 管理员计划使用现有库存和外部来源的半完成钢,以便有限的制造和港口活动可以继续。 Whyalla是澳大利亚唯一剩下的两家钢铁制造中心之一,也是该国最后一家钢铁生产商之一,这使得关闭成为国家供应链问题以及严重的当地就业冲击。

公共资金与工业战略

South Australia and the federal government have announced a A$10 million package for retraining and worker support. That sits alongside a previously unveiled A$2.4 billion package intended to stabilise the business, meet obligations, upgrade infrastructure and attract a buyer. The plant entered administration after years of underinvestment under the industrial group previously controlled by Sanjeev Gupta, whose wider operations were damaged by the collapse of lender Greensill Capital.

即时的争论是公共支持是否应该延长煤炭炉的寿命,或者加速替换技术。 政府部长和清洁工业倡导者声称,60岁的单位已经到达了其可行的生命的终结。 反对派数字将失败与能源政策和传统钢材制造的不足支持有关。 管理者,在此期间,必须出售业务,没有运营的主要炉子。

提出的长期模型是电弓炉,潜在供应可再生电和最终绿氢。 这将减少排放和利用南澳大利亚的磁性资源,但它需要大量的投资,可靠的能量和可靠的买家。 澳大利亚与欧洲的经济联系也将关键矿物、耐用供应链和低排放行业列入更广泛的战略贸易议程。

接下来的发生了什么

管理员在可能的买家中确定了澳大利亚和国际群体,但没有交易被公布。 中央测试是减少运营能否保留客户和熟练的工人,政府是否将可执行的步骤添加到进一步的援助中,以及买家是否承诺现代钢材制造而不是长期衰退。 对于Wayalla来说,这个过程的速度会决定是否暂时退休支持成为新行业的桥梁,或者是对经济紧缩的准备。