No more additional layoffs at De Beers
Parent company Anglo American announces 85,000 layoffs
Karen K. Ho
Northern News Services
Saturday, December 12, 2015
NWT
The parent company of De Beers Canada, Anglo American, recently said it will lay off 85,000 staff. But the Canadian diamond mining company said it does not plan on any additional layoffs beyond its announcements about the closure of Snap Lake and its office in Yellowknife.
A worker inside a tunnel at De Beers' Snap Lake diamond mine. While De Beers Canada CEO Kim Truter said market conditions forced the company's hand in the suspension of work, there will be no additional layoffs follow Anglo American's announcement last week it would also undergo a massive restructuring worldwide. - photo courtesy of De Beers Canada
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"They're counting the activities that we've already been doing into their number," spokesperson Tom Ormsby said, acknowledging the restructuring of De Beers Canada's operations will also result in him moving from Toronto to Calgary. "We were ahead of everybody in our planning."
Anglo American owns 85 per cent of De Beers.
As for how the closure of Snap Lake will continue to effect the territory's economy, Ormsby said De Beers Canada is still putting together the air and winter road logistics for both the suspension work and the care & maintenance phase.
"Flights during the care & maintenance phase will certainly be reduced from the frequency during full operations which varied every other week due to the rotation changes and cargo needs," he stated in an e-mail. "While there will be the reduction in frequency to Snap Lake, the ramping up of Gahcho Kue will likely pick up that up. While not the expected frequency of two mines in full operation, there may actually be a net gain over the past frequency of just Snap Lake in operation."
First Air is the primary aviation company responsible for De Beers Canada's charter flights to the Snap Lake mine. Bert van der Stege, vice-president of commercial services, confirmed up to three flights per week take place between Yellowknife and Snap Lake.
"Canada's largest Northern airline will continue to assist De Beers with chartered transportation needs across NWT and on its scheduled network across Canada's North," he stated. "We are partners in good and bad times. We will assist De Beers and affected staff at Snap Lake in the best possible way."
Impact on the territory's economy uncertain
While the full economic impact of the closure of Snap Lake has yet to be realized, organizations in the territory are bracing for nearly every business to be hit.
"This is clearly a blow to our economy," NWT Chamber of Commerce president Kevin Diebold stated in a news release. "The diamond mines' direct and indirect benefits contribute close to 40 per cent of the NWT's GDP, the largest private sector contributor to the economy. It's an industry worth protecting and one we have to grow."
In De Beers Canada's 2014 socio-economic report on the Snap Lake mine released on Sept. 22, the company said it spent $126 million on companies from the territory, including $50 million with Aboriginal companies and joint ventures.
De Beers Canada also said it had invested more than $1.5 billion with NWT businesses and joint ventures to build and operate the mine.
Tom Hoefer, NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines executive director, pointed out that the territory was looking forward to another 13 years of these benefits from Snap Lake.
"But now they've stopped," he said. "We should be very concerned."
Hoefer also pointed out the company heavily invested in community efforts, training, scholarships and other kinds of support.
In the 2014 Socio-Economic Report, De Beers Canada said its corporate social investment program spent $1.23 million in training, $239,607 in arts and culture, $140,191 in education, and $68,961 in community development.
"De Beers recognizes the importance of supporting community-based initiatives, even though Snap Lake Mine has yet to turn a profit in six years of operations," it wrote on page 24 of the report.
As the Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter road gears up for this year's season, Ormsby said De Beers Canada is planning to meet with director of operations Ron Near and the Department of Transportation to determine how traffic, including tolling on the Deh Cho Bridge, will be affected by Snap Lake's closure.
