00:00Buster Todd is a worksite supervisor in charge of a mechanical crew of 19 people for Avid
00:08Engineering, a local contractor to the Wyallis Steelworks, and on Friday he and his team
00:14will lose their full-time jobs.
00:16We haven't had an issue of getting paid by GFG. Our issue is lack of work moving forward.
00:24Buster and his colleagues will stay with Avid as casual employees, as long as the work
00:30lasts.
00:31Getting the guys in on an ad hoc basis, on an as-needs basis, so that we can still service
00:37the mines and the steelworks to the best of our ability.
00:40Avid is one of several local contractors having to make tough decisions, as the steelworks
00:45owner, GFG Alliance, cuts costs as it contends with a troubled blast furnace and a slump
00:51in global steel prices.
00:54At a community forum on Sunday, workers and residents raised their concerns.
01:01We heard of more jobs being lost today. Another 50 will go as a cleaning contractor is just
01:11moving away from it.
01:12People we've spoken to are concerned skilled workers will leave Wyalla when the work dries
01:17up and fear what that would mean for the town's long-term future.
01:22I would like to see the government step in and do something and start talking to us.
01:27We get it, we know that creditors are doing it tough, we know that people of Wyalla are
01:30doing it tough, but they're tough people. And the most important thing is we keep that
01:34blast furnace hot, making steel.
01:37GFG Alliance plans to switch from a coal to an electric arc furnace to help it make green
01:42steel using hydrogen from a power plant the state government plans to build nearby.
01:48Today a parliamentary committee heard that $593 million hydrogen project is on track
01:55and on budget, but is still in the procurement phase.
01:59We've committed to early 2026 as the target for the project and that's what we're working
02:03through our early contractor involvement process to be able to finalise the procurement.
02:09That's around 18 months to have the plant up and running.
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