UP to 50 jobs are to be axed at the renowned Irish agricultural diet feeder manufacturer, Keenan, as redundancy talks with bosses are ongoing.

The company says it has not weathered production issues well and must cut costs to return to profitability. Based at Borris in Co Carlow, Keenan was taken over by global agricultural nutritional company, Alltech, in 2016 and employs 114 people there.

According to Alltech, the recent hike in steel costs, other problems in the supply chain and a lack of labour have all contributed to Keenan’s problems.

However, Alltech, which has its headquarters in Kentucky, US, said it was fully behind the brand and was finding solutions to restoring its strength.

A spokeswoman for Alltech said: “Similar to many businesses, Keenan has faced intense headwinds over the past couple years, including supply chain challenges and slowdowns, rising steel prices and labour shortages. We have not weathered these storms as well as we should have, and we must cut costs to return to profitability.

“We are committed to restoring the strength of the Keenan brand with our customers and are taking immediate actions to do so. We continue to believe in the potential we saw in Keenan when we acquired the business in 2016, yet we recognise that we did not integrate it deeply enough into the Alltech family. As a result, Keenan struggled to stay resilient in recent challenges,” she said.

Alltech also said that it was investigating outsourcing its manufacturing with other companies, but that Keenan would remain an Irish company and stay at its current site.

It added: “To complement our areas of expertise, we are also exploring machine manufacturing partnerships. We believe collaboration with partners who share our vision will better enable us to meet our customers’ expectations for quality, on time delivery and operational support in a challenging manufacturing environment.

“At this point, these conversations are only at an exploratory stage and we have no intention of developing a Keenan manufacturing plant in any other location.”

However, this new direction by Keenan does not include taking all the staff on the same journey of rebuilding. The Alltech spokeswoman said: “As we begin to build this future, we need to set the right foundation. Unfortunately, this places some of our valued team members at risk of redundancy.

“On Friday, March 3, some colleagues received letters notifying them that they are at risk of redundancy and are part of a consultation process that ends on April 3.

“These team members are colleagues and friends who have contributed significantly to Keenan, some for many years. We will honour their loyalty and service by ensuring they are on strong footing to take the next step in their career outside of Keenan.

“We are grateful for the loyalty and passion of our team and our customers and are dedicated to honouring the privilege of their trust.

“Keenan is fully engaged in the consultation process and has to-date had ongoing communication with a group of seven elected employee representatives from all departments.

“These business decisions have been carefully considered with our customers, team and the long-term well-being of the community in mind.

“It will continue to be an Irish brand representing Irish innovation, and we are setting the foundation now for a stronger, more sustainable future,” she said.