Newcastle faces a devastating economic blow as ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) shuts down its long steel operations after 78 years, cutting more than 2,000 local jobs and around 3,500 nationally.

The shutdown comes despite a R1.7-billion bailout earlier this year from the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to keep the Newcastle plant running until the end of September.

In a memo to staff, AMSA CEO Kobus Verster confirmed that efforts to secure further funding had failed. “Unfortunately, efforts to secure funding to operate beyond September 30, 2025, have failed.

We must now, I regret to say, prepare for the closure of the longs business,” he said.

Section 189 retrenchment notices were issued from this week as the company winds down its Newcastle and Vereeniging plants.

The closures are expected to ripple through the local economy, affecting thousands of jobs in the steel value chain. Trade unions have already warned of a “social and economic catastrophe.”

Founded in 1928 as Iscor, the company grew into one of South Africa’s industrial giants, expanding rapidly during World War II and later commissioning the Newcastle plant in the 1970s.

But decades of losses, cheap imports, power price hikes, and logistics failures have left the long steel business unsustainable.

Solidarity union says government policies and state failures are to blame.

“If major companies such as AMSA fail to stay afloat, the government should realise the country is on the brink of industrial disaster,” said Deputy General Secretary Willie Venter.

The closure marks the end of an era for Newcastle — and a dark chapter for South Africa’s steel industry.

Iscor’s Newcastle Works began in the 1970s as the state government’s third integrated steel plant, chosen to promote industrial development in Natal and to decentralize industry from the Witwatersrand.

Construction of the plant commenced in 1971, with the integrated steel works and long products mill completed in 1976.

After several decades of operation under the state-owned Iscor, the company was privatised in 1989, with the Newcastle Works continuing under Iscor Limited.

Iscor Newcastle timeline:

• Government Decision: In 1969, the South African Government decided to build Iscor’s third fully integrated steelworks at Newcastle.
• Strategic Location: Newcastle was selected for several key reasons: to decentralize industry away from the Witwatersrand complex, to promote industrial development in the Natal province, and because it had an adequate supply of labor and existing infrastructure for water and electricity.
• Acquisition of Existing Works: The decision also involved taking over the existing Amcor ironworks to save on initial capital costs and to provide an outlet for the iron that was then being exported.
• Construction Begins: Construction of the integrated steel works at Newcastle started in 1971.
• Completion: The integrated steel works and long products mill were completed in 1976.

While the development of Iscor brought with it an influx of skilled workers from the UK to fill scarce skills posts, specific figures for foreign nationals working at Iscor Newcastle in the 1970s and 1980s are not readily available, though in 1975, Iscor hired a total of 27 engineers, 381 production workers, and 421 foreign artisans for its operations.

ALSO READ: Newcastle steel plant faces shutdown as AMSA rescue plan stalls

(Sources: https://www.arcelormittalsa.com/whoweare/ourhistory.aspx and writer’s own research)

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