The Whyalla steelworks in South Australia is cutting hundreds of jobs following its blast furnace did not restart.

Reports place the number of positions at risk at 500 or more, and some say over 600. The full scale of the cuts has not been confirmed.

At least 146 workers are confirmed as losing their jobs permanently.

The furnace shutdown forced the company to make the cuts. The steelworks has yet to make an official announcement about the job losses, but one was expected soon.

The job cuts come after the failed restart of the blast furnace on site.