The future of the iconic Australian car brand Holden hangs in the balance, with a lack of support from the federal government possibly condemning hundreds of engineers to unemployment.

Analysts are warning of the damaging effects to the country’s engineering and research sector that would come if the car-maker ends its operations in Australia.

Some say there should be no need for a company to accept vast amounts of government subsidy to continue operating, but others say the funding is negligible compared to the huge contribution of Holden to employment and the manufacturing and technical arenas.

Ford has all but stopped its operations in Australia and Holden seems set to do the same thing, which would leave only Toyota to create enough work for a large portion of extended manufacturing and technical industries.

Insiders say the critical mass simply would not be there, and that the entire sector could collapse.

Analysts say with somewhere around 50,000 jobs in the auto sector providing billions to the economy, it cannot be allowed to go under.

But critics say that one company does not hold sway, and the niche professionals such as engineers and scientists who play a role in car manufacture will just need to find a new application for their skills.

Thousands will most certainly lose their jobs if Holden shuts its doors, but the true demise of manufacturing can be avoided by developing usable alternatives.

One suggestion says the federal government should pay to re-skill factory workers so that Australia could produce something increasingly useful in coming years - unlike the fossil-fuel powered motorcar, whose days are numbered.

There has been no official announcement on the future of Holden, its operations in Australia or the effect on the extended technical community.

Some word is expected soon, as Holden boss Mike Devereux fronts the Government’s Productivity Commission to present the car-maker’s case.