Amidst thousands of jobs losses and shrinking head offices in our city, some unusual news: a prestigious diamond company has decided to call Calgary its new home. De Beers is one of the largest diamond mining and processing companies in the world.
Like oil, the market for diamonds has dipped. So, in an effort to cut costs, the diamond giant decided to move their Canadian corporate headquarters from Toronto to Calgary. There were other cities in contention – including Vancouver – but De Beers Canada CEO, Kim Truter, says Calgary perfectly suited to their needs.
“Taking into account things like logistics, cost of living, attraction, retention – all of those criteria – Calgary came out the winner,” said Truter, “especially on the logistics aspect. As you know, Calgary is the logistics hub of Canada; so, it’s perfect for our needs.”
An extra perk: Calgary is cheaper than De Beer’s old Toronto corporate headquarters. “I mean our timing was very, very good. It helped us get an attractive office rental price,” said Truter.
De Beers employs 900 people across Canada. The office at the Airport Corporate Centre is home to 67 of them. Close to 30 people moved, with their jobs, from Eastern Canada and the rest are new employees from Calgary.
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