The Kepak Group today (Tuesday, January 13) said that it has "more beef deboning and cutting capacity than supply can sustain" at its Clonee facility.

The group confirmed that a review of its beef deboning and cutting operations is now underway at Clonee which has sparked concern over the future of some jobs at the site.

According to the Kepak Group this review is taking place because of the "ongoing supply challenges across the Irish beef sector that has reduced cattle kills, leading to lower processing volumes".

In a statement the company stated: "As a consequence of these national beef sector changes, Kepak currently has more beef deboning and cutting capacity than supply can sustain.

"The purpose of the review is to better align beef deboning and cutting capacity with the longer-term beef supply outlook thus supporting more stable, predictable and sustainable employment and business".

Kepak

According to Kepak the abattoir at Clonee "is not affected by the review and will remain fully operational".

The company also stressed that it intends to "continue to source and slaughter cattle from its farmer supply base, as it has done at the site for more than 45 years".

It stated: "No decisions arising from the Clonee deboning capacity review have been made at this stage.

"As the review relates to specific operations rather than the entire site, it would be inappropriate to speculate on its outcome".

However the company has acknowledged that the review has created "uncertainty" for its staff and it said it is "committed to engaging openly with them throughout the consultation, supporting those affected, exploring redeployment opportunities across its other sites with the objective of retaining as many staff as possible as Kepak employees".