The Ekati Diamond Mine Image credit: Dominion Diamond Mines
The troubled owner of the Ekati Diamond Mine has suddenly fired some employees who have been out of work since it stalled the mine in April. Dominion Diamond Mines said it cannot afford to keep all of them on staff as it attempts to recover from the financial damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as per a report in cbc.ca.
The miner claimed that it cannot responsibly stay fully staffed while the Ekati Diamond Mine remains on care and maintenance, and all employees are treated fairly and with respect, consistent with Dominion's values. The employees who were terminated were notified on 29 September and referred to an outside firm for career transition counselling services.
In the termination letters, Dominion reportedly informed the employees that all of their benefits, including health and pension contributions, end immediately, and resisted answering employees' questions about severance pay.
According to the report, Dominion would not say how many employees it fired. In April, it put the Ekati mine on care and maintenance, saying the pandemic had virtually shut down the diamond industry and left it with $180 mn worth of diamonds it was unable to sell. It filed for creditor protection later that month.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
