Debswana assures on jobs as slump deepens

From an initial target of as much as 32 million carats at the beginning of the year, De Beers revised its maximum output this year to 29 million carats, then last week lowered this to 26 million carats. Debswana produces about two-thirds of De Beers’ annual output.

“Debswana continues to manage costs in response to the market downturn, and currently labour reduction is not one of the levers to pull,” Matshidiso Kamona, Debswana Senior Corporate Affairs Manager told BusinessWeek in an emailed response to questions. “Any changes to production guidelines are communicated. Any employee-related matters are regularly communicated with employees. “There are no decisions made to cut jobs.”