Imperial Schrade to cut more than half of workforce

Knife and tool maker Imperial Schrade Europe is to cut its workforce by 28 employees at the company's manufacturing operation in Listowel, Co Kerry.

The job cuts scheduled for the end of March will reduce the workforce to 13 employees.

The company said the remaining employees will be retained in manufacturing, warehousing and sales and that discussions with employee representatives concerning redundancy terms have already started.

A company spokesperson said Chinese competitors' pricing, a reduction in product demand and the weakness of the dollar all contributed to the decision to cut the jobs.