About 2,900 employees will lose their jobs at the automaker’s plants in South Australia and Victoria, according to a statement released hours after GM said Dan Akerson will step down as chief executive officer.

Local carmakers have been hit by an Australian dollar that surged almost 50 percent against the U.S. dollar from 2009 to 2012, making exports uncompetitive and boosting the appeal of imports. Holden’s departure may drive out the last remaining carmaker Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) and further damage a manufacturing sector that has shrunk to 7.1 percent of Australia’s economy from 29 percent in 1960.