The Australasian arm of General Motors says it is well placed for future growth, despite the demise of its parent company into bankruptcy protection, and has no plans to cut jobs.
General Motors is giving itself 90 days to emerge from bankruptcy protection, and will abandon several major brands, 14 factories and 47,000 workers worldwide.
The US government plans to inject a total of $US50 billion in return for a 60% stake in the company.
GM Holden has more than 6,000 staff in Australia and New Zealand, the majority in its plants in South Australia and Victoria.
Managing director Mark Reuss says Holden has already undergone a major restructuring and will remain a viable entity.
He says its operations are not for sale and it currently has no plans to cut jobs.
Mr Reuss envisages GM Holden will be able to provide a return on investment to a restructured General Motors by the middle of next year.
Holden has not made a profit in Australia since 2004, and will receive $A149 million from the federal government and $A30 million from the South Australian government to fund a second car manufacturing line in Adelaide's northern suburbs.
Mr Reuss says the company would not receive any money from the federal government until cars started rolling off the new Adelaide production line in the third quarter of next year.
No government bailout
The Australian government says it will not bail out Holden if the carmaker goes down the same blind alley as its American parent company.
Industry Minister Kim Carr has assured Holden's 6,000 workers and others in the Australian automobile industry that their jobs will not be affected by the developments in the US.
He said Holden was "effectively self contained" and its operations are very different from other parts of the world.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Holden was considered an "A-list asset" in the General Motors group and was much better placed to withstand the impact of the global financial crisis.
The federal government's $A6.2 billion green car plan had provided certainty for the car manufacturing sector for the next decade, Mr Rudd said.
