Carnage in diamond cutting industry

Despair: More diamond companies continue to lay off workers
Despair: More diamond companies continue to lay off workers

The massive retrenchments in the domestic diamond cutting and polishing industry continues unabated as companies reel from the effects of high rough prices and lack of liquidity.

According to information reaching BusinessWeek, another local cutting and polishing company, Diacore has retrenched 50 employees taking the total number of affected workers in the industry to around 1,000 in the past year.

At its peak, the industry employed about 3,700 workers. Companies that have recently retrenched include Moti Ganz (100), Leo Schachter (100), Eurostar (100), Shrenuj (90) Safdico (30), Zebra (50), Dalumni, Tiffany’s (50) while Teemane (400) and DMB closed shop. Diacore diamond polishing company, which has been operating in Botswana for seven years, employed about 130 people before trimming down the workforce to 80 employees.

Editor's Comment
Gov't must guard against cadre deployment

As the Botswana National Front (BNF) discusses a policy to place suitably qualified members in strategic positions, the guiding consideration should remain whether an individual is the best person to serve the country. There is nothing wrong with qualified party members applying for public positions. Political affiliation should neither disqualify a capable candidate nor give them an advantage over others. Every Motswana deserves a fair...

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