20,000 Diamond Jobs Axed in Surat in a Month
January 08, 23
(IDEX Online) - An estimated 20,000 diamond workers have lost their jobs in Surat, India, in the last month, as global demand slumps, according to a report in Economic Times.
Most of the city's 4,000 manufacturing units are said to working at just 60 to 70 per cent capacity, according to Damji Mavani, the secretary of Surat Diamond Association (SDA).
The city's 800,000 diamond workers are not paid for days they don't work.
Bhavesh Tank, vice president of Diamond Workers Union, Gujarat, said there were fears over a possible repeat of the 2008 recession.
Traders spoke of their concerns about recession in the US, Europe and China, where the pandemic is surging again, together with inflation and the war in Ukraine.
Generic pic of diamond polishing in Surat