Botswana President Duma Boko has announced plans for the termination of over 1,000 workers at Debswana, the government’s joint venture with De Beers.
Boko made the declaration at a recent address to civil servants. He said the ongoing downturn in the diamond market motivated the layoffs, a move the Botswana Mine Workers Union (BMWU) condemned, according to a statement it released recently.
“While we respect the office of the president and recognize the importance of national dialogue on economic matters, we are dismayed that such a sensitive and life-altering matter directly impacting thousands of workers and their families was publicly announced without any prior engagement with, or notification to, the sector union, which is the legally recognized representative of Debswana employees,” the union noted.
The organization said Boko’s announcement came at a time when the union was actively engaged in formal consultations with Debswana regarding potential cuts, making it “highly inappropriate and deeply concerning” that the information was revealed to the public before the parties had finalized the discussions. The union asked that the government “correct” its statement, so as “not [to] mislead the public” and cause “panic and uncertainty.”
The following day, the government issued a response to the union, noting that Boko’s statement about the staff cuts reflected a “commitment to transparency and the public’s right to information regarding significant economic developments that impact Botswana’s workforce and national economy.”
The downsizing comes amid “global market pressure and concerning economic uncertainties” that have affected the entire trade, the Botswana government said. De Beers is currently looking for a buyer following parent company Anglo American’s announcement last year that it intends to divest from the diamond miner and focus on core assets. Due to the weak diamond market, Anglo has twice written down De Beers’ value, by $1.56 billion at the end of 2023 and again by $2.88 billion in February of this year. During the first quarter, De Beers’ sales slid 44% year on year to $520 million, compared with $925 million during the same period a year earlier, it said in April.
De Beers did not respond to a request for comment from Rapaport News before press time.
Image: A rough diamond. (De Beers)
