BlueScope is about halfway to its cost-cutting target of $50 per tonne, according to union official Wayne Phillips.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Phillips, secretary of the Port Kembla branch of the Australian Workers Union, also said further work may need to be done even after reaching that target.
In June, BlueScope announced it was looking to reduce the cost of making steel by $50 a tonne.
Mr Phillips said that process was still under way.
"We've got meetings on Friday with BlueScope," he said.
"I'm told they are some way towards achieving it - they're at $20-25 a tonne with these ideas, so we're well on the way.
"But even if we do reach the $50 a tonne difference, there's more to be done with restructuring the business.
"We have to be wary the Chinese won't flood more steel on the market to open up that gap. If they do we're back to square one again."
Mr Phillips said the company had identified a number of positions that could go, but he felt the cuts didn't stretch far enough up the ladder.
"The company has lined up 70 or 80-odd positions now in various areas around the plant where they have identified where they could have labor leave," he said.
"We're saying that's just the tip of the iceberg. The whole company needs to be restructured, not just wages but every position - how they do business, how they pay their bills, the way they get supplies, everything has to be restructured, not just on the shop floor.
"Middle management, senior management, executives, the board, every remuneration they get.
"The whole lot. If you're going to save this business, then look at the business as a whole, not just parts of it."
Mr Phillips said the unions were working with the company to help keep it afloat until the steel prices improve.
"The steel business goes through cycles," he said.
"Everybody knows eventually the price will pick up. The crucial thing for us is, can this business at Port Kembla continue on losing the cash it's losing until that cycle goes back on the upsurge.
"It goes up and down all the time. The only thing that's really affecting us is China putting so much crap onto the market. That's what's really brought it to a head now."
BlueScope were approached for comment on this story but declined.
