BDF's primary activity is manufacturing single-use drapes and gowns for surgical procedures in hospitals. A secondary line is the production of dental floss.
With around 170 staff, they are the major employer in the Girvan area.
David Loughran, Operations Director for BDF, said: "We had to down-size slightly, but it was not entirely unexpected.
"This is one reason why we employed temporary staff from Poland, in order to protect as best we can the permanent staff - who are all local people.
"We did our calculations and this is how it panned out."
In fact, two of the workers in question had already decided to leave, one handing in his notice after passing his driving test last week. And BDF found alternative employment for the four other Polish workers on the same industrial estate, for the same wages.
Mr Loughran added: "You won't come across many employers who will do that for people, but the board of this company is driven by the spirit of doing what's right for our workers and will bend over backward to do what we believe to be morally correct. We spend a fortune on training them and that's our investment for the future – and as soon as we can get these employees back, we will. But in the meantime we have found them alternative work."
The lay-offs were driven by the demands of the marketplace.
Traditionally, BDF is not a seasonal business with a need for temporary staff. But, like many other businesses these days, the company is coming under pressure from off-shore competition.
BDF knew they had to produce a lot of product in a short time to build up stock to satisfy their customers, so brought in temporary workers to help.
Mr Loughran said: "The Polish workers were here for about six months, and to a man or a woman would all be quite happy to return. And local people here have been good to them."