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GIA Cuts Gemological Staff Again.
The economic malaise hit the jewelry industry again today.
National Jeweler reports that The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has cut its domestic workforce by another 9 percent in the face of the continuing global economic crisis that's wreaking havoc on the jewelry industry.
A GIA spokeswoman said the cuts, announced on Wednesday, would impact 103 GIA employees in the United States, 71 at the company's Carlsbad, Calif., headquarters and 32 at its New York offices. The GIA employs a total of 1,143 workers in the United States.
In addition, all salaried employees will take a pay cut of up to 20 percent, while hourly employees will lose workdays. The company's pension plan is frozen, the spokeswoman said.
The cuts come on the heels of the December layoffs at the GIA, in which the laboratory slashed its workforce by 11 percent and company executives took a 10 percent pay cut. That equals a 20 percent reduction in the GIA workforce.
According to the spokeswoman, those cut on Wednesday will receive the same severance packaged offered to employees let go in December: full pay and benefits for 60 days and an additional two weeks of severance, plus one additional week for every year of service.
In addition, the GIA is offering job search assistance and unemployment information to those affected. The GIA's global staff will remain intact, but an overseas hiring freeze is in place.
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