Holden workers in Adelaide have begun voting on a new enterprise agreement that could determine the future of the car maker's operations in Australia.
Nightshift workers at the assembly plant cast their ballots early on Tuesday morning and the bulk of the 1700 staff at the Elizabeth plant will vote later in the day.
AAP reports they are expected to endorse the new agreement which is designed to save the company about $A15 million per year in labour costs.
Without the savings, and without ongoing financial assistance from the federal and state governments, Holden has indicated its domestic manufacturing operations will close, probably in 2016.
The new agreement does not include pay cut of 10% the company initially sought, and an increase of 3% scheduled for November will be cancelled.
It also caps redundancy payments for new employees and new shift arrangements.
AAP reports the final outcome of the vote may not be known for several days. Similar votes are to take place later this week at Holden's Victorian engine plant and other facilities.
Australian Manufacturing Workers Union state secretary John Camillo said that while some of the changes to workplace conditions at Holden were tough, it was better than having no automotive manufacturing industry in Australia.
