Gem Diamonds Limited has laid off 240 employees at its Let\u0161eng mine in Lesotho after posting heavy losses for the first half of 2025, underscoring the pressure facing the diamond sector.<\/p>\n
Revenue for the period dropped to US$45.4 million from US$78 million a year earlier, while the company swung to an attributable loss of US$11.7 million after a US$10.7 million goodwill impairment. Average diamond prices fell to US$1,008 per carat, compared with US$1,366 in H1 2024.<\/p>\n
Clifford Elphick, CEO, said, \u201cThe industry continues to face significant challenges. Sustained pricing pressure, softer demand in key markets, ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, and tariff uncertainties in respect of India, combine to create difficult trading conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cH1 2025 production targets were achieved, however, revenue decreased significantly. In response, key decisions to adapt the mine plan to reduce costs, necessitated the unfortunate retrenchment of 240 employees at Let\u0161eng. While deeply regrettable, these actions position Let\u0161eng to operate sustainably.\u201d<\/p>\n
The job cuts form part of broader cash conservation measures, including reduced waste mining, cost rationalisation, and changes to Let\u0161eng\u2019s mine plan, which has shortened its life of mine to 2035.<\/p>\n
Despite achieving production targets, Gem Diamonds warned that sustained pricing pressure, softer demand, and ongoing tariff uncertainties continue to weigh heavily on the business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gem Diamonds Limited has laid off 240 employees at its Let\u0161eng mine in Lesotho after posting heavy losses for the first half of 2025, underscoring the pressure facing the diamond sector. Revenue for the period dropped to US$45.4 million from US$78 million a year earlier, while the company swung to an attributable loss of US$11.7…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33104,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"thb-sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-33095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bulletin"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n