Keenan has confirmed that 12 of its team members in Borris, Co Carlow, have taken up voluntary redundancy packages.

In total, 16 workers applied for the redundancy when offered last September, 12 of which were accepted.

Those workers departed the company on Friday 16 December.

General manager of Alltech Farming Solutions Ltd, Matt Higgins, said that the redundancies will put the mixer wagon business on a “stronger footing” for the future.

“Similar to many businesses, Keenan has been impacted by the global macroeconomic challenges of the past year, including the continued effects of the global pandemic, supply chain disruption, inflation and the war in Ukraine,” Higgins said.

Rise in costs

Keenan, he said, has been working hard on behalf of its customers to manage the exponential rise in energy costs and material prices, compounded by the availability and timeliness of key manufacturing components for its machines.

“These realities require us to take difficult decisions. In September, we put out a notice to our Borris team to express an interest in voluntary redundancy.

“These colleagues have been valued team members who have contributed significantly to building our business, some of them for many years,” he said.