Union warns 50,000 auto jobs to go

Tens of thousands of jobs will be lost because the federal government is not supporting the automotive industry, a key union says.

With Toyota announcing it will stop building cars in Australia by the end of 2017, the industry is set to collapse with the loss of 50,000 jobs, AMWU vehicle division federal secretary Dave Smith said.

"This current government has said it didn't want to support the industry post-2020 and as a result you lose 50,000 jobs," he told the Nine Network.

"They make an argument about whether the industry is efficient, but at the end of the day if you don't support it you lose the 50,000 jobs and you become the only country in the world with a policy that doesn't support automotive.

"Everywhere it operates in the world, it is supported by government."

Mr Smith said governments around the world will be contacting Toyota wanting to start up a plant in their country.