Two dozen diamond cutters and polishers who work for a Namibia subsidiary of diamond company De Beers have been laid off of their jobs, Diamond Intelligence reports. The global economic crisis of recent years was the reason given for the pink slips.

The NamGem firm, a subsidiary of NemDeb, which is jointly owned by De Beers and the government of Namibia, originally intended for the firings to number 31, but this figure was eventually reduced by 7.

Mineworkers Union of Namibia deputy secretary-general Ebbed Zaarondo said that a negotiated agreement with the firm secured two months' salary for each of the workers that had been let go. Zaarondo said that they would also receive a relocation allowance and that those who had worked for many years at the firm would receive additional compensation, according to Diamond Intelligence. When financial stability returns, Zaarondo said, those workers would be the first ones to get re-hired at NamGem.