Russia’s Alrosa, the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds by volume, may suspend some production in 2025 and cut staff as it grapples with low global prices, the sanctions-hit company’s CEO, Pavel Marinychev, said on Thursday.

Marinychev said the global diamond industry was in a “deep crisis,” with prices falling for a second consecutive year. For Alrosa, this crisis is exacerbated by a ban on Russian diamond sales to G7 and EU countries as part of Western sanctions.
“Certain areas that are less profitable, which are at the borderline of profitability, may be subject to suspension during this crisis period,” Marinychev told a local television station in the Yakutia region of Russia’s Far East, where most of Alrosa’s production is based.

He added that production in these areas could be quickly resumed if the market recovers.

“We are currently in a rather difficult situation. Our task is to endure and wait out this period, to wait for prices to start rising again,” Marinychev added. The Russian government sometimes buys diamonds from Alrosa through a state fund.

Marinychev said that the company planned to cut its labour costs by 10% in the coming year. This measure would include some reductions of its 35,000 staff, although he did not specify the extent of the cuts.