AMWU's Dave Smith.

AMWU's Dave Smith. Photo: Michael Clayton-Jones

The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union wants the federal government to offer social support to Holden workers and their communities, as well as workplace support and training.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott is due to unveil his assistance package for Holden workers early this week. The union's vehicle division national secretary, Dave Smith, said that without adequate government assistance, the union expected widespread social problems from the loss of thousands of jobs.

''They've given very little thought to that, in my opinion,'' Mr Smith said. ''Places like Elizabeth, in South Australia, have youth unemployment rates of 40 per cent.

''It can't be underestimated, and we've seen this on more than one occasion - things like drug and alcohol problems hit people, abuse rates increase, divorce rates climb, there are suicides.

''So the government needs to make sure there are services available for people to fall back on.''

He said the federal and state governments should also make money earmarked for reskilling workers available to them before they were made redundant, so they were not forced to spend months retraining without working.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said the government should act ''quickly and decisively'' to mitigate the economic and social consequences of the closure.

Labor says this would take a support package worth at least $650 million to cushion workers, and protect communities affected by plant closures.

This included at least $200 million for a fund to attract new manufacturing investments to Adelaide and Melbourne, $300 million for training and redundancies, and at least $150 million to help automotive companies restructure.

''The Abbott government has clearly failed to grasp the deep and complex consequences of Holden leaving our shores,'' Mr Shorten said.

''The Prime Minister must immediately announce a comprehensive support package, recognising the flow-on effects on the supply chain and the communities around Holden's two plants.''

GM Holden employs about 3700 people in Victoria and South Australia. It is supported by 70 suppliers in Victoria, 29 suppliers in South Australia and 16 suppliers in New South Wales.

A recent Allen Consulting Group study commissioned by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries found that the death of the automotive industry in Australia would rip $20 billion from the budget bottom line in increased welfare payments and lost tax revenue alone.

The Labor Party has called on the government to release Holden's business plan, including how much the company would have demanded in taxpayer assistance in exchange for staying in Australia.

According to Holden's 2012 business report, it has received an average $150 million a year in federal assistance over the past 12 years. It claims that for each dollar it receives in taxpayer help, it pours 18 times that amount into the economy by supporting manufacturing.

But Mr Abbott told Brisbane's Courier-Mail on Saturday that Australia should give the government credit for saying ''enough is enough'' to taxpayer subsidies for the car industry.

''Sooner or later, someone had to say enough is enough," he said.