Coronavirus: GIA's Antwerp Lab Faces Closure
August 31, 20
(IDEX Online) - The GIA could close its Antwerp lab with the loss of 51 jobs in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.
Trades union bosses fear the premises in the Belgian city could become nothing more than a drop-off point for stones to be sent abroad.
"Apparently, over the past few months, they immediately forwarded incoming diamonds to the United States," Yves Toutenel, of ACV Transcom told the Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant newspaper.
"There they think that the investments in Antwerp are no longer profitable. I have the impression that they have started to panic."
That's despite the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) having invested heavily in expanding the business as recently as 2018.
The GIA lab was closed for two months during coronavirus lockdown and Belgium's polished exports for Q2 were down more than 70 per cent.
Generic pic shows a lab, courtesy GIA