Only 30 workers Left at LLD’s Namibian Polishing Plant

The LLD diamond polishing facility in Namibia has laid off 77 workers, leaving it with a minimal staff of about 30 people, CEO Kombadayedu Kapwanga confirmed to the Namibian Economist.

Israeli diamond magnate Lev Leviev opened Namibia’s first diamond plant in 2004 in a large ceremony that included President Sam Nujoma as the guest of honor. At the time, Leviev described the plant as the "biggest and most advanced" in Africa.

The $6.5 million factory was reportedly able to process 25,000 to 30,000 carats of diamonds a month and to employ more than 500 people once in full operation. LLD gave the impression that most of the goods for the plant would come from Leviev’s local marine mining operation. These goods, however, are small and low cost, making them a better fit economically in countries where the cost of manufacturing is much lower than in Namibia.

A year after opening, Leviev turned to Namdeb, the local mining company of his rival De Beers, asking it to supply him with goods for the polishing operation. Two years later, in 2007, LLD was named one of the 11 local companies to get a Sight from NDTC, the joint venture between De Beers and Namibia, that supplies goods for polishing in the country.

“We get 4,000 carats per month from Namdeb,” Kapwanga said. “We can only hope for the best and hope that the global economy recovers. People are losing jobs in the mining companies and also in the polishing companies.”

Despite the supply, in mid-2008, the factory fired some 150 workers after three weeks of striking. The strike started when employees demanded the resignation of a manager, accused of ‘various improprieties.’

The LLD workforce cut is the latest in a line of similar measures taken across the world in mining operations and polishing facilities alike.