Kerry Group management and unions are in talks about 31 redundancies at the company's Carrickmacross factory. A spokesperson for Kerry Group told the Irish Farmers Journal that the plant, which produces prepared foods mainly for the UK market, had been hit by the falling sterling exchange rate since the Brexit referendum.

A review of the factory's viability concluded last month. "We told our employees that we're looking for 31 redundancies," the spokesperson said, adding that this would leave 385 remaining jobs in Carrickmacross.

Representatives for the union SIPTU said in a statement that the workers would have to leave their jobs on 1 March. "Our members are vehemently opposed to any compulsory redundancies and stressed that a voluntary scheme was the only way to avoid a dispute," said SIPTU organiser Jim McVeigh. The union has scheduled a ballot for this Thursday while talks continue.

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