Steelworkers down tools for last time amid first wave of redundancies

Whyalla has many faces, and one of them is Barry Drage's.

The 58-year-old steelworker has been employed at the local plant for about two decades in "one fashion or another" — as an industrial cleaner, a labourer, a fitter and a lime kiln attendant.

Most recently, he has been a furnace man.

But that fire goes out — in a figurative sense — on Friday.

Mr Drage is part of the first wave of workers who have accepted redundancies, following last month's announcement that hundreds of positions at the long-troubled site, on South Australia's upper Eyre Peninsula, would be lost.

"Hopefully I can get a job here and stay in my home," the former One Nation candidate said of his immediate future.

"If not, I'm moving to Adelaide on a semi-temporary basis, staying at a friend's place, and [will] work there.

Whyalla is no stranger to storm and stress. Twice in little more than a decade, its steelworks have been plunged into administration, most recently in February 2025.

In September this year, the state government revealed that the steelworks' blast furnace, which had been shut down for months, would not be restarted — an outcome that placed more than 600 jobs in jeopardy.

More than 250 workers are finishing up this week, including Mr Drage, who initially considered redeployment before deciding against it.

"By the time the new blast furnace was going to be operational, I was going to be near retirement age anyway," he said.

"I didn't think [such a job] was going to suit my body too well, so I thought, 'Well, a good chance to get out'."

The body-blow to Whyalla, however, is more difficult to calculate.

"I've known a few [workers] who are facing the reality of having to leave, even go up to Roxby Downs for work or even over to WA," Mr Drage said.

"If they keep their base here as a FIFO worker, then the town's still got a decent economy.

'Country that supports each other'

For workers, however, it's not the future of the city that currently matters most — their own lives and livelihoods are the most pressing priorities.

At an employment event called Employer Connect, which was hosted by a Whyalla hotel, locals gathered on Thursday to explore possible options.

"Today was very helpful — I think it's going to help a lot of people decide where their futures might head now," said Jill Allcock, who is an operator at the steelworks' power and services plant.

Ms Allcock still does not know whether she will keep her job at the steelworks — but her strong preference is to remain in Whyalla, where she has a house and family.

"I still need to pay bills and mortgage, and [have] family to help and support."

Jeffrey Duance's job as a mechanical engineer at the steelworks' pellet plant will end in a fortnight's time.

"For the businesses who are here and the people who are here, they'll struggle — they really will struggle," he said.

"One engineering company I know of used to get a lot of work but ever since this happened, their work has just stopped."

Mr Duance knows what it feels like to have been made redundant — he has been through it, he said, on two previous occasions.

He had a message for those experiencing it for the first time.

"There is work out there," he said.

One option for some is mining — and among those at the Employer Connect event on Thursday was Peter White, who runs NSW-based Specialised Crusher Services.

He said his company, which already has contracts at BHP's Carrapateena and Prominent Hill projects, was looking to further branch into SA.

"The beauty of heavy industries is many of the skill sets are transferable," he said.

"The safety culture and the principal processes around how work's conducted are readily transferable to the mining industry."

Mr White said the company was looking to secure 20 to 30 workers, including for permanent part-time and casual roles in engineering and trade services, but also labour and machinery operations.

"This event is actually illustrating the possibilities that are out there, and I honestly believe that for many there will be a really positive outcome that will come from it," he said.