Diamond giant De Beers announced that the restructuring of it Finsch Mine, in the Northern Cape, was underway.

In a press release, De Beers said that it had issued Section 189 notices to all the employees at the Mine. Of the 870 employees at the Mine an estimated 350 positions, some of which are vacant, may be affected in the restructuring process now underway.

According to the diamond producer, the final number of employees affected will be determined by the outcome of the consultation process. At this point, said the release, "it is impossible to predict the actual number of people affected until after the two month consultation process is concluded."

The Section 189 notice, read the release, "was issued in the prescribed and correct manner to all the mine’s employees, and not to specific grades of employees.

"We understand the basis of the NUM's statement that the process was ‘irregular’ is based on a point that specific job grades were not detailed in the notice; however, as said, no specific job grades were exclusively affected.

"De Beers Consolidated Mines has to run all its operations profitably, and in the case of Finsch it has incurred significant financial losses as a result of a number of factors impacting on the profitability of its mining business; including the high costs of operating Finsch Mine.

"Finsch Mine has taken many steps to mitigate these challenges by implementing a number of measures to curtail costs, with some measure of success.

"Notwithstanding these facts the company naturally continues to comply with all its legal obligations, including Finsch’s Social and Labour Plan. As part of this, a Future Forum has been established at Finsch Mine which is comprised of management and the respective employee representative bodies, including the NUM."

The press release further said that the diamond miner was "exploring various options in order to minimise the impact of this restructuring on our valued employees, such as; transfers within the Company, engaging with other neighbouring mines regarding the potential for re-employment of employees that may be displaced, acceptance by eligible employees of voluntary early retirement and voluntary retrenchment packages, and other opportunities for reasonable alternative employment."