Australia's famous carmaker Holden to shut down in 2017

Australia's carmaker Holden with a history of 157 years announced on Wednesday it will cease operation in 2017, resulting in job loss for 3,000 employees.

Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss and Victoria State Premier Denis Napthine have both said "it's a sad and difficult day for Australia."

Holden Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson said the decision to end operation in Australia was made by the car manufacturer's parent company General Motors in the United States, and it 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".

However, just one day ago Akerson told local media GM had not made a decision about Holden's future.

GM Holden Ltd is Australia's most famous automaker which headquarters in Melbourne.

For most Australians, Holden has been an iconic national brand and a very important heritage of the country.

The company has been seeking help from the Australian government amid the depression of global automobile industry.

But Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has rejected spending more public money to keep Holden afloat.

Abbott said the government would not offer anything beyond what was promised in the September election. The Liberal-National Coalition is committed to provide a total of 500 million AU dollars (452.6 million U.S. dollars) in car industry assistance to 2016/17.

"We think there's more than enough money on the table. But there is no more," he said during an interview with Fairfax radio last Friday.