No confidence in SA prisons chief: union

South Australia's corrections chief is standing his ground, despite prison officers unanimously backing a motion of no confidence against him.

Prison officers voted on Friday to signal they no longer had confidence in Department of Correctional Services (DCS) chief executive David Brown.

It comes amid growing tensions between the department and prison officers, who threatened last month to lockdown jails because of overcrowding issues.

Public Service Association (PSA) chief industrial officer Peter Christopher said officers were concerned for their safety and job security under Mr Brown's leadership.

"I think it would be fair to say the chief executive is the first target," he told reporters.

"We expect to meet with the minister (and) if that doesn't resolve the issue, then I imagine the chief executive will not be the only target."

Mr Brown said he was disappointed and concerned about the personal attack against him.

"I acknowledge the pressure placed on the department through the growth in prisoner numbers and the associated capacity constraints," he said in a statement.

"I remain committed to effective consultation with the PSA, its industrial officers and job site representatives."

The department was working to bring new prison beds online through a number of expansions, he said.

The DCS is looking to find $5 million in budget savings this financial year, partly driven by a government-imposed one per cent efficiency dividend on all agencies.

Mr Christopher said he had been told that 50 prison officers would need to be sacked for the department to meet that target.

But the department had angered officers by pressing ahead with plans to reinstate a full-time "dog squad" to serve the state's prisons at a cost of $837,000 per year.