00:00 After much speculation, Elkoa's 800-strong Kwinana workforce were told in a morning briefing
00:07 all but 50 of them would need to look for a new job. About 250 contractors also set
00:14 to be impacted.
00:15 Everyone's a bit grim I suppose. No one really knows what's going to happen. That's the uncertainty
00:20 is probably the worst part.
00:21 Yeah, it's a bit hard to know how you feel I guess.
00:24 This is a really difficult decision and it impacts our workers, it impacts their families,
00:29 it impacts the communities in which we operate.
00:31 Normal operations will continue for three months, during which Elkoa has promised to
00:36 help affected workers find jobs within the organisation or elsewhere. After July, production
00:41 ceases with the workforce reduced to 250. By July next year, that'll drop to just 50.
00:48 It's an ageing facility. It's probably really sub-scale. It has cost challenges.
00:55 We didn't think it was going to be this quick and this certain, they're that certain of
00:59 which way they're going to go. No, it was a bit of a surprise to everybody.
01:03 But the Kwinana refinery had recorded a net loss of approximately $130 million in 2023.
01:10 The state government says in the current job market, almost all Elkoa workers at the Kwinana
01:17 refinery should have skills that fit easily into other employment.
01:21 A silver lining in what the Premier says is an otherwise dark day for his Kwinana electorate.
01:27 Mr Cook says while he understands Elkoa's decision, he's disappointed.
01:32 This is going to be a kick in the guts for the Kwinana and Rockingham communities. We'll
01:36 continue to make sure that we stand by them.
01:40 A skills centre in Rockingham is preparing to help affected workers and the government
01:45 is in talks with the union and Elkoa about establishing a jobs and skills kiosk at the
01:50 refinery itself. Elkoa says it's committed long term to its
01:54 other operations in WA, with major refineries in Pinjarra and Wagerup.
01:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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