Offaly businessman hits out at job loss reports

Offaly business owner Stephen Grant has hit out at media reports regarding job losses at his company Grant Engineering. Reports this week told of 40 job losses at the boiler manufacturing company, but Mr Grant says the jobs in question have always been seasonal and reports are making a mountain out of a molehill. "This has gone on for 30 years and for some reason the media are making a bit of a meal out of it now," he told the Offaly Independent yesterday. "We don't see this really as bad news; this is normal stuff. We've been in business for over 30 years and we've always operated on the basis that we employ people on the understanding that they're seasonal. At different times of the year we're less busy, and this is one of those times. It's just part of the cyclical nature of the business. This has been going on for three decades and it's just now people have made something of it." Based in Crinkle, just outside Birr, Grant Engineering employs approximately 200 people at its headquarters and a further 60 in the UK. The majority of these positions are full-time according to Mr Grant, and there are no plans to downsize the full-time workforce. The company has a string of awards under its belt for its oil-fired condensing boilers, and Mr Grant himself was recognised when he won Ernst and Young's "Entrepreneur of the Year" award in 2008. The company has just launched a wood pellet burning boiler with efficiency rates of over 97% in Ireland, which Mr Grant said he has great expectactions for in the UK and world market judging on interest in it so far. Speaking to the Offaly Independent yesterday Mr Grant said last year was particularly busy, and the seasonal workers in questions weren't laid off at any point. He said everything is going as planned this year as well and added that if the company gets busier the seasonal jobs will become available again.