Cannabis producer Canopy Growth (WEED) is cutting 800 jobs as part of its latest operational restructuring.
The job cuts amount to one-third (35%) of the Smiths Falls, Ontario-based company’s workforce. Canopy Growth said it plans to reduce its cultivation and production businesses as part of its cost cutting efforts.
Canopy Growth said that it will stop growing cannabis at two facilities in Kelowna, British Columbia and Kincardine, Ontario, and that it will end cultivation at its Smiths Falls headquarters.
The company is also seeking third parties to make its vape, beverage, edible, and extract products, while focusing on higher-margin products such as cannabis flower, pre-rolls, soft gels, and oils.
And the company said that it will reduce the number of in-market brand and SKU products it sells in Canada by 25% and 50% respectively.
The changes will result in 800 employees losing their jobs, said Canopy Growth. That represents 35% of its total workforce.
This is the latest in a series of job cuts and restructurings at Canopy Growth as the company tries to stem mounting losses.
Canopy Growth was Canada’s biggest cannabis producer when the recreational drug was legalized nationwide in October 2018. But since then the company has fallen on hard times and scaled back its operations dramatically.
Canopy Growth reported a cumulative $2.2 billion net loss in the first half of its current fiscal year. Most recently, the company reported a 28% decline in its fiscal third quarter revenue to $101.2 million while posting a quarterly net loss of $266 million.
Canopy Growth’s stock has declined 73% over the last year to trade at $3.06 per share.
