"Administrators tell Liberty Bell Bay workers to take leave without pay or be sacked", 16 April 2026

About 175 workers at Australia's only manganese smelter, Liberty Bell Bay, have been told they will be laid off at the end of next week unless they take leave without pay.

At a town hall meeting with administrators Ernst and Young (EY) this morning on the Liberty Bell Bay (LBB) site at George Town, near Launceston, workers were told that there would be no more money to pay the majority of employees after the current pay cycle, which ends on April 24.

… Private equity firm White Oak, a secured lender to GFG Alliance, appointed EY as administrators to LBB …, and the 216-strong workforce has been reporting for duty and carrying out care and maintenance…

Australian Workers' Union assistant national secretary Chris Donovan, speaking on behalf of all four unions represented at LBB, told … he was extremely disappointed in today's news.

… "What the unions are calling for is for the state and federal government to offer to support the workers by paying their wages."

Bell Bay Advanced Manufacturing Zone chief executive Susie Bower told … there was a high level of buyer interest in the Liberty Bell Bay smelter, but it would be much harder for the administrators to sell it without a workforce.

… Ernst and Young previously confirmed workers would be paid wages until April 24, but did not comment on whether they would continue to be paid after this date.

… In a statement …, Ernst and Young said approximately 170 to 175 redundancies are necessary to "enable the retention of a small, critical workforce to maintain limited operations at the smelter".

It said consultation between employees and union representatives about the redundancies would occur tomorrow…