The Irish division of worldwide board game producer, Cartamundi, shelled out over €14 million in severance packages following the closure of its Irish branch last year according to newly released financial reports. In March 2023, Cartamundi Ireland decided to shut down its Waterford factory, citing the impacts of the Covid 19 pandemic as the principal reason.
The manufacturer, established for more than 40 years, initially as MB Games and later as Hasbro, produced games such as Monopoly, Twister, Connect 4, Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble. The factory reduced its staff count from 314 to 81 in 2023, incurring redundancy costs of €13.5 million, following a previous pay-out of €409,000 in 2022.
These figures are based on data available up to December 2023, suggesting that the final severance payments would be higher once the remaining employees were let go. The factory was afterwards listed for sale at a starting price of €17.85 million.
The end-year financial documents for 2023 revealed that the company retained some production at the site, but the size of the production team had dwindled from 262 to 61 and administrative staff from 52 to 20. In total, approximately 233 people were affected, averaging a severance package of nearly €58,000 per employee, though the exact amount each person received would be dependent on their salary and length of service.
Despite solid sales during the peak of Covid and throughout 2021, the business experienced a significant decline from mid-2022 due to rising raw material and energy expenses, affecting manufacturers on a global scale.
Cartamundi’s director, David Germis, stated that the company’s Waterford factory had been incurring losses for months on end, thereby being impracticable to maintain. According to the records, the company amassed a revenue of €60.6 million in 2022, consistent with prior years. However, this figure dropped drastically to €20.5 million in 2023 as the firm began decreasing its activities.
In this timespan, expenses escalated, predominantly owing to the shutting down of the production site. In 2023, the company reported a deficit of €17.1 million, in contrast to the previous year’s profit of €136,000.
In 2023, Cartamundi’s Irish subsidiary failed to remit dividend payments to its Belgian parent company, despite having withdrawn over €30 million in dividends since 2016. Cartamundi, a firm based in Belgium, specialises in the manufacture of board games and playing cards. The company had purchased the factory in question from Hasbro in 2015.