A HISTORIC Ayr business has announced 24 job losses amongst its staff amid a forecast slowdown in sales.

Alex Begg's staff make luxury accessories from cashmere, silk and wool blend yarns at the company's factory and outlet shop in the town's Viewfield Road.

The company says that following a consultation with staff, those who were made redundant left the business earlier this month.

A spokesperson for Alex Begg Group said: “Following forecasts of a marked slowdown in sales and substantially increased costs amid ongoing inflationary pressures, we recently took the difficult decision to seek redundancies at our Ayr manufacturing facility.

"After a formal consultation process with our team, 24 roles were lost, and all those who were made redundant left the business two weeks ago.

“With a heritage that stretches back more than 150 years, we continue to invest in developing new products and are confident the business has a strong future, but it was vital that we acted to secure its long-term health.”