Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth quietly announced on Wednesday that 200 jobs have been eliminated in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom in the course of restructuring departments. This is the company’s third major cutback since March.
Canopy Growth confirmed to Cannabis Wire that the company shared the news internally this week.
On March 4, Canopy announced that it would close two greenhouse facilities in British Columbia, representing more than 3 million square feet licensed for cannabis production, and would terminate its plans to produce cannabis in a greenhouse in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. These decisions, which eliminated roughly 500 jobs, were, according to the company, an “effort to align supply and demand.” (This news was included in Cannabis Wire’s subscribers-only newsletter, Cannabis Wire Daily.)
Then, in mid-April, Canopy announced that it would scale back operations around the globe, including in Africa and Latin America. This resulted in the elimination of 85 jobs. (Read Cannabis Wire’s coverage of this announcement.)
In a statement, shared with Cannabis Wire, Canopy Growth CEO David Klein called these decisions “difficult,” and thanked “members of the team affected.”
Klein replaced Canopy Growth founder and CEO Bruce Linton, who was ousted last year. Klein joined Canopy Growth from alcohol giant Constellation Brands (Corona beer, SVEDKA vodka, etc), which invested an unprecedented $4 billion into Canopy Growth, one of the most significant investments made in the cannabis industry to-date. In many ways, the cutbacks at Canopy under Klein have undone much of the expansion pushed by Linton following Constellation’s investment. (As Cannabis Wire has reported, much of Canopy’s pre-investment executive team and board has now been taken over by Constellation.)
“For a long time Canopy has prioritized doing things first,” Klein continued, “but going forward we’ll be focused on doing things the best in the markets and in the product formats that show the greatest promise.”
The company will share more about “the new vision of the organization,” Klein said, during its earnings call on May 29.
