500 Voluntary Job Losses at Debswana
February 13, 25
(IDEX Online) - Debswana, the 50/50 joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana government, has approved requests for voluntary separations for around one in 10 of its 5,000-strong workforce, as the slump in global diamond demand continues.
The company said around 500 employees would be leaving, but it had rejected applications from a number of workers playing critical roles in its operations.
Debswana, which owns the Jwaneng and Orapa mines, currently employs just over 5,000 people. In December the company invited employees to apply for voluntary separation.
"In consultation with our Workers' Union, we agreed to create opportunities for employees who wanted to explore other ventures, to express interest in separating from the company, and this call for expressions of interest attracted a significant interest, with the company, however only acceding to approximately 500 requests," Agatha Sejoe, corporate affairs manager at Debswana, told Mmegi the national Botswana newspaper.
Debswana said in December that sales for the first three quarters of 2024 were $1.53bn, down by 52 per cent on the same period in 2023.
There are concerns that voluntary separations could be a prelude to enforced retrenchments.
De Beers and the Botswana government have finally reached agreement on the long-term mining and rough sales deals.
Earlier this week the government forecast a recovery in the diamond market later this year, and a consequent expansion of the country's economy.
Pic shows Jwaneng mine.