The American Gem Society has laid off five employees, reducing its staff by about a third. Among them was Margaret DeYoung, its deputy executive director, and four others behind the scenes.

“Our members are having a tough time, and that trickles down to us,” said Ruth Batson, AGS executive director. “I’m confident we’ll grow in the future. It just looks like it won’t be in the near future.”

Losing DeYoung was “really sad,” Batson says. “I really enjoyed working with her, and her knowledge and experience were a real asset.”

AGS has had to resort to other cost-cutting measures, like canceling (for this year) its Circle of Distinction dinner and Liddicoat journalism awards. It also announced that its Spectra publication was going online only.