De Beers’ Indian exploration subsidiary has dismissed around 70 of its 80 employees at its Bangalore rough diamond testing facility as part of a reorganisation program. Six of the 10 remaining employees will be relocated to South Africa.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior De Beers official told the newspaper, “The retrenchment is part of a restructuring programme. Six geologists are being relocated.” A De Beers spokesperson told Livemint.com in an e-mail response that some geologists were being shifted so they could gain further international experience. “Those that are remaining will form technical … teams focusing on our primary objective of discovering a world class mine,” the spokesperson added.