A new food processing plant in Adelaide may provide a lifeline for Holden workers set to lose their jobs.
Thomas Foods International has signed an agreement with a Thailand-based group to develop the processing centre and chief executive Darren Thomas says Adelaide's north is the logical place to start looking for a potential site and a potential workforce.
"This investment will be significant," Mr Thomas told reporters on Monday. "It will be in the millions of dollars and the jobs will be there and they'll be significant as well.
"There has been a lot of talk about the northern suburbs....it would be a logical choice to be looking there."
More than 1000 Holden workers will lose their jobs when the car maker closes its assembly plant in Adelaide's north in 2017.
The state government is providing assistance to help develop employment opportunities in the north and has also called for direct investment from the commonwealth.
Premier Jay Weatherill said he was pleased to see that Thomas Foods would look first towards Adelaide's north as a location for the new centre and to source workers.
"There seems to be an obvious relationship between where people need work and where work may be provided," he said.
"The food industry will be an important driver of jobs following the closure of Holden."
Under the agreement, Thomas Foods and the Charoen Pokphand Group will develop an advanced food processing centre to prepare packaged foods for export across Asia and the world.
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