South Australia's car industry is in a "very dangerous situation" after the promotion of Holden's managing director to an overseas position, premier Jay Weatherill says.
Both Mr Weatherill and SA Opposition leader Steven Marshall agree the departure of Mike Devereux is a bad thing for the ongoing negotiations over the future of the Adelaide Holden plant at Elizabeth.
Mr Devereux on Friday announced he was leaving Holden at the end of the year to take up a senior position with General Motors in China.
The premier told ABC Radio on Monday the situation now was very dangerous.
"For every day that the federal government delays in responding to Holden's proposition about co-investing in the future of this plant, we are getting a day closer to closure," he said.
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"Every day that the federal government waits, every day that they insist on this $500 million cut and will not commit to the co-investment package means that we have thousands and thousands of jobs in jeopardy in this state."
The plant closure would lead to thousands of jobs being lost in the state and the knock-on effect would be "catastrophic", the premier said.
Mr Marshall said the loss of Mr Devereux was a very bad indication of where the Holden negotiations were going.
But he backed the approach of the new Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane who has asked the Productivity Commission for an urgent report on the situation.
SA needed a plan to get the automotive industry back on its feet, not just a cash injection, he said.
