Gem grader GIA cuts jobs at Carlsbad headquarters

by Penni Crabtree

The Gemological Institute of America, the nation's top rater of diamonds, has cut 117 jobs at its Carlsbad headquarters, citing the global recession that has taken the sparkle out of the jewelry trade.

The nonprofit trimmed 11.3 percent of its 1,642 worldwide employees last week as part of a cost-cutting plan that also reduces work hours for some remaining employees, imposes a 10 percent pay cut on executives and halts company contributions to employee 401(k) retirement plans.

“It was a really, really sad day, and we did everything to avoid it,” said Laura Simanton, a spokeswoman for GIA, which employed 976 people in Carlsbad before the cuts. “But the diamond and gemstone industry has been having a difficult time. The pipeline is not flowing.”

That pipeline – from the stones that come out of South Africian diamond mines, to diamond cutters and polishers in India, to swank jewelry stores in Manhattan – has been squeezed by the credit crisis and softening demand for luxury goods.

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