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There’s been a lot of talk about Holden being shut down in Australia since General Motors announced it will be withdrawing most of its Chevrolet operations from Europe. Unfortunately, the recent reports have been confirmed by GM today, who said Holden will cease Australian manufacturing by 2017.
GM’s decision to axe Holden will cost Australia about 2,900 jobs over the next four years. According to the automaker, the Elizabeth and Victoria plants will eventually lay off 1,600 and 1,300 workers respectively by 2017. While GM doesn’t say what will actually happen to Holden beyond 2016, it mentions that the brand “will continue to have a significant presence in Australia”.
"We are completely dedicated to strengthening our global operations while meeting the needs of our customers," said GM chairman and CEO Dan Akerson. "The decision to end manufacturing in Australia reflects the perfect storm of negative influences the automotive industry faces in the country, including the sustained strength of the Australian dollar, high cost of production, small domestic market and arguably the most competitive and fragmented auto market in the world,” he explained.
"This has been a difficult decision given Holden's long and proud history of building vehicles in Australia. We are dedicated to working with our teams, unions and the local communities, along with the federal and state governments, to support our people,” added Holden chairman and managing director Mike Devereux.
We don’t know whether GM will keep offering the Commodore-based Chevrolet SS after the 2016 model year, but Chevy should share more info in the near future. In the mean time, you can have a look at GM’s official announcement below.
"We are completely dedicated to strengthening our global operations while meeting the needs of our customers," said GM chairman and CEO Dan Akerson. "The decision to end manufacturing in Australia reflects the perfect storm of negative influences the automotive industry faces in the country, including the sustained strength of the Australian dollar, high cost of production, small domestic market and arguably the most competitive and fragmented auto market in the world,” he explained.
"This has been a difficult decision given Holden's long and proud history of building vehicles in Australia. We are dedicated to working with our teams, unions and the local communities, along with the federal and state governments, to support our people,” added Holden chairman and managing director Mike Devereux.
We don’t know whether GM will keep offering the Commodore-based Chevrolet SS after the 2016 model year, but Chevy should share more info in the near future. In the mean time, you can have a look at GM’s official announcement below.
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