Cannabis producer Canopy cutting 800 jobs, closing flagship Canadian facility
Canadian cannabis producer Canopy Growth said Thursday it is closing its flagship cultivation facility in Smiths Falls, Ontario, and cutting more than a third of its workforce as part of a shift to an “asset-light model” in Canada.
Canopy disclosed the new strategy as it reported a net loss of 267 million Canadian dollars ($200 million) for its fiscal third quarter, bringing the struggling company’s red ink in the first three quarters of the year to CA$2.6 billion.
Canopy said it is cutting its workforce by approximately 35%, including 800 positions impacted by Thursday’s announcement.
Forty percent of those, or roughly 300 positions, were terminated effective immediately, a spokesperson told MJBizDaily via email.
The layoffs come as cannabis companies across North America have been shedding hundreds of jobs and closing facilities because of failing business plans, falling wholesale prices and recession worries.
Last month, U.S. multistate operator Curaleaf Holdings said it would shutter the majority of its operations in three Western U.S. states – California, Colorado and Oregon – and reduce its payroll by 10% in the latest sign of the ongoing difficulties for the cannabis market as a whole.
