Hundred of people are set to lose their jobs by the year's end as General Motors axes Holden after 72 years of operation in Australia. The shutdown is expected to cost at least 600 jobs as General Motors ceases making vehicles suitable for Australian roads. It comes three years after local manufacturing ended when the Holden plant in Adelaide was closed. General Motors will no longer produce any right-hand vehicles.

Hundreds to lose their jobs as Holden closes for good

The Holden brand will disappear at the end of the year after its owner General Motors (GM) announced it would no longer make cars suitable for Australian roads.

Exiting the Australian market and other right hand drive markets such as Thailand is expected to cost the company “north of $US1 billion” ($A1.5 billion).

The move comes just three years after local manufacturing ended with the shuttering of the Holden plant at Elizabeth in Adelaide’s northern suburbs.

Late last year the company also announced it would stop selling its most iconic car, the Commodore.

GM announced on Monday it would stop producing vehicles for right-hand-drive markets.

Holden has sold those globally produced cars in Australia with its own badge on them since local manufacturing ended here in 2017.

The company released its first all-Australian built car in 1948.

Holden’s financial services operations which provided finance for purchasers, as well as the ultimately short-lived rental service Maven, will also be wound down, as will design and engineering operations.

As many as 800 jobs are expected to go in the move, with many of them to cease by the end of June.

If you’re one of Holden’s many Australian or New Zealand customers your warranties and servicing packages you got when you bought your car will still be honoured.

The company also promised it would continue to provide servicing and spare parts for at least a decade through its aftersales network, which would also continue handling recalls if they arise.

GM has blamed “significant change globally and locally”, which despite attempts to “sustain and improve the business”, have ultimately brought about its demise.

“After comprehensive assessment, we regret that we could not prioritise the investment required for Holden to be successful for the long term in Australia and New Zealand, over all other considerations we have globally,” GM international operations senior vice president Julian Blissett said.

He said Holden had been a “powerful driver of the industrialisation and advancement of Australia and New Zealand” over its “proud 160-year history”.

“This decision is based on global priorities and does not reflect the hard work, talent and professionalism of the Holden team,” he added.

“This was an agonising decision for us and one we didn’t make lightly or easily,” Mr Blissett said. “We only did it after looking at every possible other opportunity.”

He wouldn’t comment on whether the company had explored selling the brand, but it was revealed the Thailand factory that made the Colorado ute has been sold to Chinese manufacturer Great Wall Motors.

“Today’s announcement will be felt deeply by the many people who love Holdens, drive Holdens and feel connected to our company which has been with us for 160 years and is almost ubiquitous in our lives,” GM Holden interim chairman and managing director Kristian Aquilina said.

“Unfortunately, all the hard work and talent of the Holden family, the support of our parent company GM and the passion of our loyal supporters have not been enough to overcome our challenges,” he added.

Mr Aquilina added the “Holden family”, including its dealers and employees, were some of the brand’s biggest fans.

He thanked the people who have shared some of the biggest moments of their lives with a Holden vehicle, whether it was their first car, a ride to their wedding or one home from the delivery room.

“Holden has been ubiquitous, deeply integrated into our landscape, streetscape and culture. We may be winding down a business today but no one can ever take away an icon.”

He likened the attempts to keep Holden alive to trying to defy gravity.

“We chased down every conceivable option, every strategy, every plan, we looked under every rock,” he said, adding the closure was an “inescapable reality”.

“We tried everything to keep Holden going until it was evident it would take good money over bad.”

“Holden employees will be given separation packages and help transitioning to a new job."

The company said it would also work with its dealers, who may be offered the option of continuing as authorised service outlets.

The Holden dealer network includes 185 dealers in Australia and 31 in New Zealand.

Mr Aquilina has promised a “dignified and respectful transition” for Holden’s employees and dealers.

The company previously went through a transition at the end of local manufacturing in 2017.

At that time, Holden bosses told news.com.au the brand would move away from its traditional status as an iconic Australian brand with revhead imagery to match and move towards one more fitting with “modern Australia”.

That move now appears to have backfired.

GM said it would be focusing its Australian and New Zealand efforts on the “specialty vehicles business”, which is likely in reference to the HSV badge that has gone on to high-powered variants in the past.

It could appear on a right-hand-drive Corvette model in the future.

Company bosses were quick to stress that the “doors are not closing today” and orders will continue to be taken on the stock already in the country, which will be supported through the same warranties and aftersales service.