Kiran Gems, a leading diamond manufacturer based in Surat, Gujarat, has announced a 10-day holiday for its 50,000 employees from August 17 to 27. This decision is aimed at managing production levels in response to declining global demand, according to The Indian Express.
The company explained that the diamond industry is currently facing a downturn, with minimal demand for polished diamonds internationally. Vallabhbhai Lakhani, the chairman of Kiran Gems, stated, “We have declared a 10-day holiday so that the production of diamonds can be controlled. Such a decision was taken for the first time in the company’s history.”
While diamond factories in Gujarat typically close for extended periods during Diwali, this unusual holiday is intended to reduce production, with the goal of controlling supply and potentially increasing prices to benefit the industry.
The company also plans to compensate its workers for the days off. Lakhani noted that if other diamond companies follow suit and implement production control measures, the industry as a whole could benefit.
“Over 50,000 diamond polishers work in my firm, out of which 40,000 cut and polish natural diamonds while 10,000 work in the lab-grown diamond unit,” Lakhani told The Indian Express.
Lakhani is one of the first to move his operations from Mumbai to the newly inaugurated Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB), which was opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2023.
Kiran Gems, recognized as the ‘world’s largest natural diamond manufacturer,’ is also a major exporter of polished diamonds. With an annual turnover of ₹17,000 crore, the company is an authorized buyer of rough diamonds from De Beers, a leading global diamond producer.
Due to the decrease in global demand, De Beers has reported a 15 percent drop in rough diamond production for the second quarter of the 2024 financial year compared to the first quarter.